RWBY With A Twist
by Ohfortheloveofpete
Summary: Ruby Rose goes to Beacon Academy after being accepted two years early by Professor Ozpin. But the teams are going to be different than what you're used to...
1. Chapter 1: Attempted Robbery

Guess _what? I'm making a fanfic where different things happen in the Emerald Forest...in other words, people end up getting different partners in the Emerald Forest..._

 _In other words, there's going to be different teams this time. Sound like fun? Of course, I'm not going to tell you whose going to be on which team yet._

 **Chapter 1: Attempted Robbery**

"It's Friday, Friday, getting down on Friday..." sang Ruby. For some strange reason a lot of people didn't like Rebecca Black...but she thought that Friday was rather catchy.

Still, she wondered if it would be depressing if she sang about Monday.

Of course, though she WOULD like to go to Beacon, she was rather young for that. They only accepted students that were seventeen or older. At least Signal was a rather enjoyable school to be in. She was one of the best students in there. In fact, she got the feeling that they were rather jealous of her.

It was too bad really. She didn't want to be special.

Anyways, she was sure that she could get in Beacon someday, even if they were picky as to who would be allowed inside of it. After all, she was pretty good with her weapon...which was Crescent Rose.

Incidentally, it matched her last name. Rather ironic, eh? Whatever suited her personality, she guessed.

Little did she know that at that very moment someone was planning a robbery. Of course, there was news in the newspaper about robberies in the last few weeks...but Ruby Rose decided that she would be fine. She was rather strong and she wouldn't go down too easily.

The robber in question was Roman Torchwick, one of the biggest scoundrels in all of Vale. At least seven countries had sworn warrants for his arrest...and they were still counting. And yet, they hadn't been able to arrest him.

Not that Roman minded being a wanted criminal...he LIKED being infamous. Besides, if he encountered a bounty hunter, he could simply blast them with his cane. They never saw it coming. Of course, who would expect a simple cane to be such a deadly weapon?

And speaking of criminal activity, he was up to no good again. Cinder had requested for him to gather more dust. It was if she was plotting to destroy a city or something. What else would she want so much of it for?

Currently, he was trying to get said dust in order to keep both himself and Cinder happy. And no, he was not going to use it in order to make himself high. He was not a drug addict.

Instead, he wanted it due to the power it possessed.

Sure enough, his thugs broke in and started demanding some dust. If the shopkeeper didn't comply...things would probably start getting rather messy.

And of course, the shopkeeper was not looking forward to being in the obituaries.

"Give us the dust!" exclaimed Roman.

The shopkeeper sighed. This was the third robbery in Vale this week...and wouldn't you know it, he was one of the victims.

Oddly enough, Ruby was not paying attention. She was still listening to Friday.

Suddenly, one of the thugs took her headphones.

"Hey!" exclaimed Ruby.

"This is a robbery! Put your hands up!" demanded the thug.

"How about I put THIS up?" asked the teenage girl, pulling out a scythe.

"She brought a scythe into the store without me knowing it? I've got to improve my security..." remarked the shopkeeper. Maybe he could get some security cameras so that he could prove that Roman Torchwick robbed him?

Fortunately for Ruby, the thugs were not putting up much of a fight...at all.

Quickly, she began to slash through them, causing them all to collapse on the floor.

They were probably going to be arrested later.

However, as it turned out, there was more to Roman Torchwick's cane than meets the eye.

Suddenly, he began to fire explosive rounds from it at Ruby.

"Whoa!" bellowed Ruby. She didn't know that Roman Torchwick's cane contained explosives.

Fortunately, most of the explosions missed her completely. She was rather agile. She wondered if Sonic the Hedgehog would be jealous.

This frustrated Roman somewhat...it appeared that her high speed was a natural counter to his explosives...since they only went off once they hit the ground.

However, Roman Torchwick was planning to make a getaway. He had a chopper ready for when he stole the dust...but considering that Ruby had taken down most of his thugs, perhaps it would be best for him to retreat.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the chopper was going too fast. She wasn't going to be able to pursue it.

"Darn it!" thought Ruby. She was hoping that she could get him arrested...but maybe not today.

On the other hand, she got the feeling that they would cross paths again one day. Maybe she would get an opportunity to arrest him then.

"You really are a daredevil, aren't you?" questioned Glynda.

Ruby looked around.

Sure enough, it was Glynda Goodwitch, one of the teachers at Beacon Academy.

Immediately, she began to squeal. She was rather excited to meet such a powerful huntress with such strong telekinetic powers.

"Can I have your autograph?" asked Ruby, a wide smile forming on her face and her hands on her cheeks.

"We don't have time for that." stated the lady.

"Awww!" complained the scythe wielder. Maybe she would get another chance. Then again, she already had her uncle's autograph, and he was absolutely awesome.

A few minutes later, Ruby was sitting next to a table. Glynda Goodwitch apparently wanted to talk to her...about how stupid she had been.

At that very moment, Professor Ozpin came in.

"I get to meet Professor Ozpin too? This must be my lucky day!" exclaimed Ruby. Had she died and gone to heaven?

"One could say that..." answered the professor.

Immediately, Glynda Goodwitch handed Ruby some cookies. Some chocolate chip cookies, to be precise. Already, Ruby was salivating.

"Yay! Chocolate chip cookies!" cheered Ruby. It was the best day ever!

She began to eat them rather ravenously. Glynda wondered if Ruby watched Cookie Monster on Sesame Street as a child. At this rate she was going to empty the cookie jar.

"So...where did you learn to wield your weapon?" asked Professor Ozpin. Ruby was rather skilled with it, to say the very least. It was rather unusual, especially considering that Ruby hadn't even gone to Beacon.

"Oh that...my uncle taught me." said Ruby.

"Your uncle?" questioned the professor.

"Yes, my uncle. He's one of the best hunters there is...when he's not falling down drunk." stated the teenage girl. He needed to tone down the drinking a bit more. The last time he had a drinking contest (while he and Ruby were watching a movie) he ended up running around the house in his underpants.

It was rather embarrassing...on the other hand, it was kind of funny.

"Who is your uncle?" inquired Professor Ozpin.

"His name is Qrow..." answered Ruby Rose.

"The Qrow?" asked the professor.

"I believe so, yes..." nodded the teenage girl.

"Would you say that he's taught you well?" inquired the man.

"I think so." nodded Ruby. On the other hand, she could have inherited her skill from her father.

"Well then, I think I know what to do now..." stated Professor Ozpin.

Suddenly, he handed Ruby a slip.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

Curious, she decided to open it. Maybe it was her allowance.

As it turned out, she was being invited to Beacon. Her eyes quickly began to widen.

"What? But it's still two years before I graduate from Signal!" exclaimed the teenage girl. She was rather surprised at the occurrence...though it was a rather pleasant surprise.

"You sure about this?" asked Glynda Goodwitch. Beacon lessons could be rather dangerous...though to hunters and huntresses they were completely harmless.

"To be honest, I think Signal might be too easy for her..." stated Professor Ozpin.

"She'll be two years younger than everyone else in the academy though..." noted Glynda Goodwitch.

"Yes...but I do believe that her sister is also at the Beacon Academy...I'm sure that she'll enjoy her company at least..." answered the professor.

"You make a good point..." admitted the teacher that was flagrantly based off of a Wizard Of Oz character. Maybe if she was lucky she would end up being partnered with her.

Either way, they would be able to do some bonding...sometimes Ruby missed her half-sister anyway.

"So...when do I get to go to Beacon?" asked Ruby.

"In a few moments...right now other Signal graduates are getting ready to head to Beacon as well..." explained Professor Ozpin.

"I suppose that makes sense..." nodded the teenage girl. She didn't exactly look forward to being trampled...though considering how fast she was she could probably avoid an angry mob if they approached her.

"Will they have cookies?"

"I think they will." nodded the silver-haired man.

"Yes!" cheered Ruby. She couldn't wait to go to Beacon.

Sure enough, the airship arrived, and Ruby would get her opportunity to go to Beacon Academy. It was rather exciting to get to meet so many hunters and huntresses to say the very least.

She wondered if she would end up meeting new friends. Of course, her social skills weren't all that great...but maybe she could get past that. Perhaps her sister would help her.

On the other hand, being a huntress WOULD probably be rather dangerous...but she was sure she could handle it. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to be alone.

Speaking of her sister, she was currently boarding the Beacon airship herself.

"I'm not sure why they use such a huge airship to take students to Beacon...but who cares? It's awesome!" exclaimed Yang.

However, another blonde-haired student did not see things that way. His name was Juane.

"My stomach is on fire!" exclaimed Juane.

As soon as Juane threw up, his archenemy Cardin began to laugh. He had been bullying Juane even before they went to Beacon together.

He found it rather amusing that Juane had airsickness, to say the very least. He was going to enjoy his trip to Beacon Academy, that was for sure.

From there, all he had to was find strong students and then meet with them during the initiation test. Then they could become the strongest team in Beacon Academy there was! They would be unstoppable!

Well, OK, maybe they wouldn't be unstoppable...but they would surely dominate the competition at least.

Elsewhere on the ship, Blake was reading a book. A book all about Beacon Academy, incidentally. It was rather interesting.

Quickly, she began to flip through the pages.

"I wonder who the founder is..." stated Blake.

Curious, Ruby decided to see what was on TV. Hopefully it was something rather entertaining

Immediately, she began to flip the channel.

Eventually, she stopped on the news.

As it turns out, Roman Torchwick was on TV.

"Roman Torchwick is on TV? Lucky him!" exclaimed Ruby. She wished that she could get on TV...though considering that she was training to become a huntress maybe she WOULD be on TV someday.

Sure enough, it was detailing his attempted robbery. It was rather unfortunate that he managed to give him a slip. Why didn't karma catch up to him?

Well, maybe it would someday.

Suddenly, she began to hear the sound of vomiting. Was someone sick to their stomach? If so, maybe attending school wasn't such a good idea. What if they ended up vomiting on a teacher?

Curious, she began to look for the origin of the sound.

She found it soon enough.

"You alright, man? Did you eat too much at the school cafeteria?" questioned Ruby. She did that sometimes back when she was at Signal...though she only got a stomachache at the most. She was still rather skinny, after all.

"It's being on a moving airship...ugh, my stomach..." murmured Jaune. Of course, the same thing might end up happening to him if he ended up driving a car or he decided to ride a boat. Something told him that traveling around the world was going to be a pain.

"Oh dear..." stated the teenage girl. In retrospect, maybe Juane should have brought some medicine in order to deal with such a thing. But it was too late to do so now by the looks of it...unless for whatever reason there was a nurse on the airship with them.

Ruby looked around to see if that was the case...but she didn't find anything.

"I hope that you feel better soon." stated Ruby.

"Thanks..." answered Juane.

Curious, Ruby checked the map to see how close they were to their destination. Apparently, it would be a few hours until they arrived at Beacon.

Hopefully Juane would be able to hold on until then. She was starting to get worried about him.

Meanwhile, Nora was running around the ship. She was rather excited to go to Beacon...now that she had graduated from Signal.

"This is awesome!" exclaimed Nora. It looked like her days at Signal had paid off...even if she did once topple a row of desks with a simple touch of her hammer. It was quite a story to explain to the teacher.

Of course, the concept of not running in the halls was rather foreign to her. It appeared that she was going to gain the animosity of hall monitors in the near future.

In contrast, her friend Lie Ren would probably be on good terms with them. He was typically rather relaxed and composed. And before you ask, he was not a liar.

She was hoping that Ren would end up on the same team as her, because that would be awesome. They were the best of friends after all.

However, Ren had decided long ago that they should simply be friends...though Nora would probably say otherwise.

Elsewhere on the ship, Weiss had heard a rumor that a student from Signal had managed to Beacon two years early. She was starting to wonder if the teachers were losing their marbles. Why would they do such a thing? And she found it to be rather disappointing considering that she didn't get that privilege despite being one of the best students at Signal herself.

Perhaps she should talk to Professor Ozpin someday about it. Maybe there was a mistake.

But she decided that she wouldn't let that ruin her stay at Beacon. Besides, she already knew who she wanted to be partnered with. She heard that the ever-so-famous Pyrrha was also going to be a student at Beacon.

If she managed to find her during the Emerald Forest initiation test, then she would be all set.

"Mwahahaha!" laughed Weiss, as lightning filled the sky.

"Why are you laughing evilly?" questioned Blake.

"No reason." answered the icy student at Beacon Academy. She could be so devious sometimes. Maybe she got it from her sister.

Why was there a burst of lightning, anyway? She thought that it was supposed to be sunny today.

Meanwhile, Ruby was looking outside the window. She could see her house from there...which was being TPed while she was gone.

"Gosh darn it!" bellowed Ruby. She sure hoped that her father would be able to clean it up.

On the plus side, her father did forget to buy toilet paper from the store sometimes. She kind of...needed it.

Anyways, she was looking forward to going to Beacon Academy.

Hopefully she could become the best huntress that she could be...even if she was two years below the age limit.

"Beacon Academy, here I come!" exclaimed Ruby.

 _I hope that you like this chapter, of course, I haven't really deviated from canon yet...but I'll get to that later. I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if you've already seen it if you watched the first chapter of RWBY._

 _Before you ask, yes, some things are going to be the same as they were in canon. I'm not going to change everything. Heh heh._


	2. Chapter 2: First Day Of School

_Well, I wasn't expecting this much response right from the get-go...I figured it was a good sign and that people were encouraging me to continue...so yeah, I'm going to write another chapter._

 _In this chapter, well, it's going to be the first day of school. You probably know that already. And as before you're going to see characters interacting with each other._

 **Chapter 2: First Day Of School**

After a few hours had passed (and Jaune had vomited up his lunch in its entirety), the airship arrived at its destination.

Sure enough, the students could see the Beacon Academy in all its glory. One could say that it was rather beautiful. Others could say that it was going to be the biggest chapter in their lives. Either way, they were certainly going to learn MANY things at the academy. They wouldn't have to worry about self-defense anymore, to say the very least.

Ruby was rather excited. Immediately, she sped out from the airship using her semblance, leaving rose petals behind in her wake. The air smelled rather pleasant all of a sudden.

Likewise, Yang began to follow her. Though she did admit that she wasn't as fast as her sister was, she was still very agile herself.

However, not everyone was as quick to leave the airship as they were.

Weiss and Blake calmly walked out of the airship. Though admittedly they were looking forward to attending Beacon Academy, they were not in a hurry to go to school. They both agreed that it was best for them to take their time and get used to their surroundings.

Of course, Nora was not going to be living by that philosophy.

"Come on, Ren! We don't want to be late for school!" exclaimed Nora, as excited as ever.

"We still had time." pointed out Ren.

"But I want to enter the academy!" bellowed the girl. Despite being around seventeen years of age, Nora had a rather energetic personality comparable to that of a small child. It was rather weird.

"So do I, but I think we should try to relax. It's going to hurt us if we do something rash..." answered the teenage boy.

"Alright, but I'm still going to show the students my hammer!" exclaimed Nora.

"You're not going to break legs with it, are you?" asked Ren.

"Of course not, Rennie! I'm not that psycho..." answered the girl.

Ren nodded in agreement.

Shortly afterwards, Pyrrha and Juane left the airship.

Oddly enough, Pyrrha noticed that Juane seemed nervous about something...but she wasn't quite sure what.

Immediately, she and Juane entered the school.

"You alright? I know that you felt awful back when you were still on the airship." asked Ruby.

"Yes, I am...thanks." nodded Juane.

A few seconds, Cardin and his friends walked out of the airship, a smug smile on their faces indicating that they thought that they ran the school.

"This is going to be awfully fun...for us that is." stated Cardin, cracking his knuckles as he made his way to the school.

He was sure that Beacon Academy was full of students that were easy to bully. Of course, he might want to be more careful with how he bullied people. He had gotten about as many detentions at Signal Academy as there were days in the school year.

Not only that, but the teachers at Beacon Academy were stricter than they were in Signal Academy, since the students had higher expectations of them and were older. He probably wouldn't be able to get away with the things he had successfully managed to get away at Signal Academy...though admittedly he didn't away with much stuff to begin with from all the detentions he had.

Sometimes he wondered if he should stop bullying for a change and if it was more trouble than it was worth...but it was simply too much fun to resist. For him, anyway. He was sure that the victims didn't feel the same way he did. But it couldn't be helped.

Immediately, he and his friends took a seat. He was looking forward to being partnered to them during the Emerald Forest test. He had a plan for it.

As it turned out, his buddy Russel had already come up with a plan. He had managed to obtain a map of the forest beforehand. As it turned out, there were forest rangers that were willing to do such a thing...forest rangers that Beacon Academy weren't aware about.

Once the initiation began, he and his friends would meet up at specific points on the map. They would then meet at the shrine all together and then take the matching chess pieces.

He was looking forward to it, to say the very least. Then he and his friends would dominate all the other teams during sparring matches. And best of all, there would be no girls in the team. Why no girls, you may ask? Because girls had cooties. He didn't want to be anywhere near them.

He decided that he and his team would take the rook pieces. Why you may ask? Well, they made him feel like a king. Technically, there were king pieces in the shrine as well...but he figured someone else would probably take them before he did. The king and queen chess pieces were both very popular, indeed. The queens were often the first to go, followed by the kings. The pawns in contrast were usually saved for last.

Of course, his team was going to need to work accordingly. Once they chose a chess piece, it was too late to change their mind. It also occurred regardless of which partner picked up the chess piece...so if either of them made a mistake and picked the wrong chess piece, there wouldn't be anything that they could do about it.

Fortunately, it would be a week before the Emerald Forest test began, so they had plenty of time to prepare. Cardin thought that the plan was absolutely foolproof...though he wasn't sure what his friends had to say about it.

However, he wasn't the only one that was planning to meet another person in the Emerald Forest. Though Lie Ren insisted that he and Nora were just friends, she insisted on them being on the same team and to meet each other during the initiation test. She figured that being on the same team as him would be fun.

Incidentally, she wanted to get the exact same piece as Cardin did...though she wasn't aware of that.

A few hours after they entered, they were called for an assembly. Apparently, someone wanted to explain the rules of Beacon Academy to them and to remind them of their task.

Sure enough, Pyrrha was the first one to answer the call. She figured that since she was so popular she would try to set a good example for each of the students at the academy.

"Yes, Ms. Goodwitch?" asked Pyrrha.

"Take a seat, Pyrrha." answered Ms. Goodwitch.

Pyrrha immediately took a seat. Due to the fact that Ms. Goodwitch was rather strict, she wondered just how long she had been teaching at the academy. Perhaps the pressure had gotten to her.

The next person to show up was Ruby. Why you may ask? Because if there was anyone that was the fastest student in Beacon Academy, it was her.

"Am I late?" asked Ruby. She didn't want to be late for her first day of school, that was for certain.

"Actually, you're the second person here." answered Ms. Goodwitch.

"Really?" questioned the brunette girl. It appeared that she made it before her big sister did. It was rather ironic considered that she was older.

However, she showed up a few minutes later.

"Hey there, sis. You actually made it here before I did. Good job." stated Yang.

Immediately, she and Ruby gave each other a fist punch.

Pyrrha noted that they were as close as sisters should be...and maybe then some.

The next person to arrive was Weiss. She apparently took school rather seriously...unlike Ruby who had a tendency to sleep in class. What did she dream about, anyway?

Speaking of which, she was taking a snooze. She might as well since everyone needed to be at the assembly before they could begin.

"Zzz..." murmured Ruby in her sleep. Currently, she was dreaming about her uncle slaying Grimm. In her dreams he was as awesome as he was in real life, oddly enough. Maybe she wasn't the type of person to exaggerate even in her thoughts.

Weiss was not amused.

"Wake up!" bellowed Weiss, shaking Ruby back and forth in anger.

"Huh? What?" inquired Ruby, waking up from her slumber.

"Pay attention to the teacher!" exclaimed the ice huntress.

"What? But the assembly hasn't even started yet!" bellowed Ruby.

"You can't fall asleep in class! It's against the rules!" shouted Weiss.

"But I'm tired!" complained the gothic girl.

"Why didn't you sleep last night?" asked the ice user.

"I was too excited! I just passed my second year at Signal Academy! I passed with flying colors!" bellowed Ruby.

"Ugh!" bellowed Weiss. She was starting to wonder what Professor Ozpin was thinking when he decided to send somebody that hadn't graduated completely from Signal Academy. He had better have a good reason for it.

"Yeah...my sister does that sometimes." noted Yang.

Weiss scowled. Was there anyone in this school with half a brain? Of course, maybe that was why they were going to school in the first place...

At that very moment, Blake entered the room. For some strange reason, she was walking on all fours...unlike a normal person.

"Why are you walking on all fours?" asked Yang.

Blake's cheeks turned red, realizing that she was acting like an animal...specifically, a cat.

Immediately, she stood upright again. She was wearing that bow on her head for a reason.

The next person to enter was Nora...who ended up leaving a Nora-shaped hole in the door.

"You do realize that the doorknobs exist for a reason, do you Nora?" asked Mrs. Goodwitch.

"Of course I do!" exclaimed Nora.

Ren followed shortly afterward, gasping for breath. Apparently, he had a hard time keeping up with Nora.

"I need...a glass of water..." stated Ren.

Nora handed Ren a glass of water.

"Thanks." said the teenage boy, gulping it down rather quickly.

Cardin entered the assembly hall next. He was rather dismayed that he was going to have to listen to a boring lecture. Personally he felt that he already knew what it took to be a hunter. And quite frankly, his friends agreed with him on the matter.

Nonetheless, they had decided to remain at his side.

Currently, they were entering the classroom along with him.

Immediately, they sat in front of the class like they were in charge of the whole school...which technically they weren't. Cardin wouldn't mind a position of authority though.

Russel Thresh likewise sat down next to Cardin, Dove set down next to Russel, and Sky sat down next to Dove. Maybe if they were lucky they could pick out a student at the assembly that they could bully later.

Hopefully Glynda wouldn't take too long. He wanted to hurry up and bully some students already, especially those that were Faunus...or maybe Juane. Speaking of which, where was he? He should be at the assembly by now.

Oh wait, that was right. He wedgied him up the school flagpole on his way here. He was probably having a hard time trying to get down.

Well, it was too bad for him...though he probably didn't want to attend the assembly anyway.

However, at that very moment, he showed up. Apparently, he managed to get down...or someone helped him anyway.

"Did I miss anything?" asked Jaune.

"We're just about to start." explained Mrs. Goodwitch. Judging from the fact that his underwear was still sticking out slightly, he had been wedgied. She wondered if she should find whoever did that to him and subject them to discipline.

But she could worry about that later. For now, she needed to address the students.

"Greetings, my dear students. I see that you are all here. Well then, I hope that you're planning on listening to me. If you don't, there just might be consequences in the future." stated Ms. Goodwitch.

Of course, Cardin wasn't planning on listening to Ms. Goodwitch. To be honest, he found school to be rather boring. He would rather cut to the chase and start slaying Grimm already. Not only that, but he would rather bully students rather than simply listen along with them. Where was the fun in that?

"First of all, understand that being a hunter and huntress is rather dangerous work. As such, you need to keep your head on straight and not do anything foolish. You also need to understand that hunters should not go out alone and should work with a team when dealing with packs of Grimm..." explained the teacher.

Ruby was about to fall asleep again, but Weiss punched her in the elbow. Why was she sitting next to her again?

"For now, I hope that you know what you're doing. Remember to treat your students with respect, as they are also aspiring to be hunters like yourself and they may assist you in holding off the Grimm one day." stated Mrs. Goodwitch.

Cardin put his finger in his ear and started twisting it around.

"I think you might be able to learn something from that, Weiss." stated Ruby.

"Very funny..." answered the ice huntress.

"Fortunately, in case you're worrying about risking your life in order to protect Vale as a hunter or huntress should be doing, you won't be entering Grimm-infested territory just yet. However, that will change next week when you take the test to see who will be part of a team." explained the teacher.

"I am so ready for it!" exclaimed Yang, punching her fists together.

"Let's not be hasty." warned Blake. It would be a good idea to try to get ready for the initiation test, though admittedly it usually wasn't very risky to the students. Most of the Grimm in Emerald Forest were very young and therefore were of little consequence to the hunters and huntresses, though Glynda still wanted them to partner up as soon as possible in case anything happened.

"Right, of course not..." stated the blonde. Personally she wanted to start fighting Grimm as soon as possible. On the other hand, Blake was willing to wait a little longer. She had seen enough carnage as it was.

For some strange reason, Yang and Blake were very different people. The same thing applied to Ruby and Weiss. Perhaps it was some strange twist of fate that they would meet each other.

Of course, there was the possibility of them ending up making eye contact during the Emerald Forest...but they decided if that happened they could simply live with it. After all, it was a good idea to put aside their differences in case the Grimms launched an all-out assault.

Fortunately, according to the history books, there hadn't been a Grimm invasion in a very long time, due to how peaceful it was in Vale. Though it didn't mean that they should take peace for granted, it did likely mean that they would have plenty of time to train themselves as hunters and huntresses.

Eventually, the lecture was over, and the students were free to go to the cafeteria so that they could have some lunch. Cardin sighed in relief. He wanted to hurry up and bully some students already. And the cafeteria seemed to be a good place to do it...though after class was also a good possibility. He could even do it during class if the teacher was inattentive enough.

Nora knew the first thing that she was going to do.

"Pancakes, here I come!" exclaimed Nora, heading into the cafeteria.

At the cafeteria, Ruby was sitting in a bench.

So far she was enjoying school.

"I think Beacon Academy is going to be a pleasurable experience...even if I'm two years younger than everyone else." thought Ruby.

Maybe if she was lucky she would find another prodigy about her age. Either way, she wasn't going to let the age differences let her down.

Hopefully one day she could become as awesome as her uncle Qrow.

"One of these days I might even surpass him." thought Ruby. Wouldn't that be a funny thought.

 _I hope that this chapter turned out as well as the first...or better. I've already come up with some original ideas for the fanfic...it's kind of funny how fast I came up with it. If you want to hear them, PM me. I'm welcome to suggestions. Just try not to take complete control over it._


	3. Chapter 3: Nighty Night

_In this chapter, Ruby and Yang are going to spend their first night at Beacon Academy. Of course, so are Weiss and Yang...and Nora and Ren...and Juane and Pyrrha...you get the picture._

 _And of course, there's going to be some bonding. Just for the record, it's going to be a few chapters before we get to know which teams Ruby and her friend get. At least it might be. Who knows?_

 **Chapter 3: Nighty Night**

Ruby enjoyed her first day at Beacon Academy very much. Of course, not all the faces that she met were rather friendly. For example, Weiss didn't exactly want anything to do with her.

Not only that, but when she tried to have a chat with Weiss, something horrible happened.

At that very moment, Weiss pulled out a bottle of dust.

"I'm so glad that we have this stuff...otherwise the Grimm would have killed us all by now..." noted Weiss. They'd all be angels in Heaven...though admittedly Heaven was lovely this time of year.

At that very moment, Ruby approached her.

"Hey there!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Don't approach me! I'm holding explosive dust!" bellowed Weiss.

This alarmed Ruby, who wasn't looking forward to accidentally blowing herself up.

"Oh, alright then. I'll slowly back a-"

Suddenly, Ruby sneezed. If only she didn't have allergies.

"Ah-choo!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Oh no..." thought Weiss.

Immediately, Ruby was sent flying with an explosion, soaring to the sky.

"What in Vale?" asked Weiss, her eyes widening as she looked up at the sky.

"Whee! I can fly!" bellowed Ruby, stretching out her arms with a smile on her face.

Suddenly, Ruby began to descend. Lousy gravity.

"Or maybe not." stated the gothic girl as she fell, her smile turning upside down. She was starting to feel rather nervous. It was times like this when she wished she was a Nevermore.

Meanwhile, Velvet and Coco were admiring the statue of the school's founder. Currently, Coco was drinking some delicious chocolate milk.

"I'm so glad that he made this school. It's keeping us safe from harm..." noted Velvet.

"It certainly is. Besides, how else would I get my minigun?" asked Coco.

Velvet shrugged.

Suddenly, Ruby fell from the sky.

Immediately, she shattered the statue of the school's founder.

"Whoopsie?" said Ruby sheepishly as she got to her feet. This did not look good for her. At least she didn't hurt herself.

Weiss rolled her eyes. It was a good thing that Glynda could simply put the statue back together again.

Velvet and Coco decided to walk away quietly.

"I am going to be in so much trouble..." thought Ruby.

Fortunately, Glynda was able to repair it, as Weiss had thought.

Ruby was about to say something, but Glynda walked without saying a word.

She sighed in relief.

Now that Weiss thought of it...why exactly was she carrying a suitcase full of explosive chemicals? It didn't seem exactly...safe.

Of course, neither was being a huntress.

Meanwhile, Nora was eating pancakes...a ton of them. She was putting on a top of syrup on the pancakes too. At this rate she was going to empty the entire bottle.

"Nora, maybe you should cut down on the pancakes a bit more. You've been eating them for half an hour straight." pointed out Lie Ren. He was rather surprised that Nora didn't have a stomachache now that he thought of it.

"But I'm cuckoo for pancakes!" exclaimed Nora.

"Are you sure you're not cuckoo for Pumpkin Pete's?" asked Pyrrha, pulling out a box of her trademark cereal.

"I'm cuckoo for those too!" bellowed the electric girl, eating them without milk.

Meanwhile, Blake was eating some tuna. She certainly loved the taste of tuna. Of course, if she kept eating it, people would start to wonder if she was actually a human being.

At that very moment, Weiss approached her. She seemed miffed about something.

"Is something the matter?" asked Blake.

"It's Ruby! She sneezed all over my dust and it exploded!" bellowed Weiss. Now she was going to have to get some more. Would her sister be angry?

"Oh my! Is she alright?" inquired the cat girl, her eyes widening in surprise.

"Yes...but guess what? She destroyed the statue of our founder!" exclaimed the ice huntress.

"Really?" asked Blake.

Curious, she decided to look out the window.

"Hmm...it doesn't look like the statue is destroyed." pointed out the Faunus. It looked like it was completely intact. However, there did appear to be marks of an explosion a short distance from it.

"That's because Ms. Goodwitch repaired it." answered Weiss.

"Oh..." said the cat girl.

"I swear, one of these days she's going to get herself killed..." remarked the ice huntress.

"That's a pessimistic way to look at it..." pointed out Blake.

"I'm just stating the truth..." answered Weiss. Ruby becoming a huntress was essentially a suicide mission. She should really leave it to the professionals...like Professor Ozpin for instance.

"Do keep in mind that she's just starting out at the academy..." stated the Faunus.

"True...but I don't think anyone has ever accidentally destroyed the statue before..." said the white-haired girl.

"Actually, it's the third time this week..." explained Blake.

"Really?" questioned Weiss.

"Yeah...the statue's surprisingly fragile." said the cat girl.

"It's as if it's an ice sculpture..." remarked the ice huntress.

Meanwhile, Yang was looking for Ruby.

"Ruby, where are you? I heard an explosion..." stated Yang. She sure hoped that Ruby didn't need to visit the infirmary.

"I'm alright..." said Ruby, approaching her older sister.

"You're covered in ash, what happened?" asked the boxer.

"Oh that...I may have sneezed all over Weiss's dust..." stated the scythe wielder.

"Are you SURE you're alright?" inquired Yang.

"Well, I did burn my hair a little...but I think I'll be fine..." answered Ruby.

"You burned your hair? Oh my gosh, Ruby, that's terrible!" exclaimed the burning girl. She know how she would feel if her hair ended up being burned. Miraculously, that never happened while she was using her semblance.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it will grow b-"

Suddenly, Yang gave Ruby a hug.

"There there, everything will be alright..." stated Yang.

"Yang, you're choking me..." warned Ruby. Sometimes Yang forgot how strong she was.

"Sorry, sorry..." apologized the huntress, letting go of her younger sister.

"At least Miss Goodwitch wasn't angry. She repaired the statue I hit without a problem." stated the scythe wielder. Miss Goodwitch is so awesome.

"That's a relief." answered Yang. She didn't want her sister to get detention on the first day of school. That would be kind of embarrassing.

Of course, she wouldn't put it past Cardin to get detention on the first day of school. He and his friends were always causing trouble.

"By the way, how did you get into Beacon Academy? Granted, I don't really mind having you with me...but you seem a little young to be in the academy..." answered Yang.

"I doubt Weiss is going to let me hear the end of it. Apparently, they were rather impressed with how well I was doing for a Signal Academy student. Apparently, I was the only one that actually designed their own weapon." stated Ruby.

"Really? I never designed these gauntlets myself...they were a gift from my mother." answered Yang.

Ruby noted that Yang frowned slightly when she said that. Where could she possibly be? It'd be nice if she returned home every once in a while. But as it was, Yang's mother was off on a faraway mission. And they weren't even sure whether she was alive or not.

It was rather depressing.

"I sure hope Jaune's doing better than I'm doing...he seems to be having a hard time at school." noted Ruby. Sometimes being a freshman could be rough.

Meanwhile, Jaune was waiting behind a back alley.

Apparently, his new friend Cardin was waiting for him.

"He said he wanted to meet me here...but I don't know why..." answered Jaune.

Now that he thought of it, this dark alley looked rather scary. It seemed like an odd place for them to meet.

However, he wasn't expecting anything.

Curious, he noticed that there was a dumpster nearby.

"Gee, this dumpster smells really awful after a day at the cafeteria..." noted Jaune. Why would Cardin want to meet in the dark alley when there was such a smelly dumpster? He sure hoped that he brought a nose peg.

Little did he know that while he was "admiring" the dark alley, two individuals were approaching him.

Suddenly, Russell and Dove picked him up.

"What are you doing? Put me down!" exclaimed the blonde.

Immediately, they tossed him in the dumpster.

"Aargh! I'm covered with garbage!" screamed Juane. Well, at least people thought that he looked sexy while he was in the shower...wait, why were they saying that?

Russell and Dove gave each other a high five. That had been too easy.

Immediately, they walked out of the back alley.

"I'm sure that he's fine." said Yang back at the Beacon Academy courtyard.

Curious, Ruby and Yang noticed that the sun was going down. In other words, it was getting late.

"Hmm...maybe we should check out our dormitory. I'm pretty sure that Miss Goodwitch has curfew rules in effect." pointed out Yang.

"Yeah...as you said, I wouldn't want detention on my first day of school." stated Ruby.

"Besides, I heard that the dormitories are co-ed..." said the blonde.

"Really? I'm starting to wonder if the headmaster is a pervert..." answered the brunette.

"Well, at least we'll get to meet cute boys..." stated Yang.

"Yeah, I'd personally like to hang out with Jaune..." answered Ruby.

"Maybe he'll be on the same team as you..." pointed out the blonde.

"Yeah, maybe he will..." nodded the scythe wielder. Personally she would like to be on the same team as her sister. They did have that special bond, after all.

On the other hand, she might end up working with Weiss and Cardin. She wasn't particularly looking forward to working with either of them. But maybe she would be fine.

Immediately, she and Yang entered the dormitory.

"I'm going to meet some cute boys. Will you be alright without me?" asked Yang.

"I think so..." nodded Ruby.

Quickly, she went to look for some hot boys. She would love to have a boyfriend...preferably one that was about as strong as she was.

A few minutes after Yang left, Ruby began to smell something that was rather foul.

"What is that awful smell?" asked Ruby, covering her nose. It smelled like someone let out a tremendous fart that shook the whole building.

As it turned out, it was Jaune, who was still rather smelly from the incident with Cardin and his gang. He still wasn't sure why Cardin wanted him to come to that back alley. He didn't even show up!

"Oh dear...what happened to you? You look like you decided to hang out with the pigs and roll around in the mud with them..." stated the scythe wielder. Oddly enough, that actually sounded kind of fun.

"Two bullies tossed me into a dumpster..." said Jaune.

"Oh dear! That explains the horrible smell. What were they serving at the cafeteria anyway? I don't remember..." stated Ruby.

"I don't either..." answered the blonde. He knew that there were pancakes...or at least there were until Nora showed up.

Ruby and Jaune decided to introduce themselves. Maybe they could become friends at the Beacon Academy...even if Ruby was two years younger than Jaune was.

"Pleased to meet you...but I think you should wash your clothes...it's only a matter of time before other people start smelling it..." said Ruby.

"Maybe you're right. I think I'll start with my shirt..." answered Jaune.

Immediately, he took his shirt off in front of Ruby as he went to the washing machine.

"Yang was right. There are hot boys here." thought Ruby. All the more reason to stay at Beacon Academy despite the two year difference between everyone else, she supposed.

Meanwhile, Weiss was deciding to get to know Blake a bit better. Perhaps they could be teammates even if her plan to recruit Pyrrha to her side wasn't successful.

Already, they happened to know each other's names.

Oddly enough, for some strange reason Blake reminded her of a cat, though she wasn't quite sure why. But if she had nine lives, chances are she wouldn't be going down on the battlefield anytime soon. It was rather convenient.

Maybe if she was lucky she'd be able to include both the strongest student AND the most durable. It would be her lucky day indeed.

"So, are you plotting evil again?" asked Blake.

"I'm not plotting evil! I'm just being devious..." answered Weiss.

"There's not a big difference..." noted the cat girl.

"I must destroy the world...I mean I must find a good team!" exclaimed the ice girl.

"Right. Well, good luck with that." stated Blake.

"Good luck with that too." said the white-haired huntress.

Elsewhere, Pyrrha was trying to get some sleep. Unfortunately, people kept asking her for her autograph.

It was getting rather annoying that people kept asking for it in the middle of the night, to say the very least.

But she supposed that there has to be a tradeoff when you become popular.

How many autographs had she signed tonight, anyway? She had lost count.

Meanwhile, Jaune had finished cleaning himself off. It was a good thing really. He was starting to worry that nobody would want to be on the same team as him and would try to avoid him during the Emerald Forest test.

At that very moment, Cardin showed up.

"Hey there, Cardin. Why didn't you show up in the dark alley like you said you were? Did you suddenly remember that you had a prior commitment?" asked Jaune. Normally, he wouldn't go back on his word on account of him being an Arc...but sometimes that ended up happening. Usually people understood.

"Er, yeah. I had to visit...my sister." answered Cardin sheepishly.

"Oh. Funny you should mention that. I have seven sisters." stated Jaune.

Cardin whistled. That was a lot.

"Oddly enough while you didn't show up two other people did...they tossed me in a dumpster and got me covered with garbage...it was rather humiliating...one of them was wearing a suit of armor while the other was dressed in green..." said the outnumbered sibling.

"Yeah...I have no idea who those two are at all." lied the school bully.

"I'm sure that my next day will go better though. It can only go uphill, right?" asked Jaune.

"Yeah. I'm sure that your next day will go just fine..." answered Cardin.

Unbeknownst to Jaune, Cardin had his fingers crossed behind his back.

"Well, I'll see you later. I hope that you have a good night's sleep." stated Juane.

"Yeah, you too." nodded Cardin.

Secretly, Cardin put a "Kick Me" note on Juane's back as he walked away from him.

A few minutes later, he found himself being kicked by Cardin's friends.

"Ow!" bellowed Jaune as Russell kicked him in the right leg.

"Oof!" exclaimed Jaune as Dove kicked him in his left leg.

"Aah!" screamed Jaune as Sky kicked him in his right kneecap.

"Whoa!" shouted Jaune as Nora kicked him so hard he collapsed on the floor.

"Ow?" said Juane as Lie Ren kicked him gently in the back of his right leg.

"Hey, dude." stated Ren.

"Hey, Ren." answered Juane as Ren walked by.

"Why are people kicking me tonight? I never did anything to them..." thought Jaune.

Still, he decided that it could be a lot worse. None of them appeared to be all that strong in the leg department.

However, at that very moment, Yang Xiao Long showed up. Judging from the fact that most of the boys were cheering her name, her journey tonight had been a big success.

Suddenly, she noticed Jaune with his big "Kick Me" note on his back.

"Well, if he's asking for it, I guess it will be alright." answered Yang.

Unfortunately for Jaue, Yang kicked him so hard that he was sent crashing through the wall.

"Oww..." murmured Jaune. His aura had officially gone down the toilet.

"See you later, dude." spoke Yang as she walked to her room.

Jaune passed out on the floor. It looked like he wouldn't be going to bed tonight.

Curious, Cardin (who had been watching from a distance) noticed the big hole in the wall.

"It must be my friends." thought Cardin. Nobody else in this dormitory could be that strong.

Immediately, he went to bed himself.

 _I hope that you enjoyed this chapter. And yes, Yang has a very fearsome kick. In the next chapter, there's going to be more lessons from the teachers._


	4. Chapter 4: Getting Ready For The Exam

_In this chapter, Ruby's going to get ready for the exam along with everyone else. In the process, we're going to see more of Team CFVY...and yes, technically they're not going to be participating in the Emerald Forest test since they're not freshmen...but yes, they'll be in this fanfic too._

 **Chapter 4: Preparation**

Fortunately for the students that were going to take the Emerald Forest test (which admittedly shouldn't be really dangerous to them considering that they graduated from Signal Academy), the teachers at Beacon Academy had given them time to prepare for the test.

Of course, not all the students were going to prepare for the exam. Since Cardin and his friends thought that they were "perfect", they were not going to prepare for the exam.

"What a bunch of babies. They're training for the exams while we're sitting here relaxing." stated Cardin. Personally he thought that they were wasting their time. They should simply sponge off their partner, he thought.

Currently, he was drinking some soda he found in the cafeteria.

"Yeah, what a bunch of losers." said Russell. They were going to be best students in the academy, that was for certain. The rest of the Beacon students wouldn't know what would hit them...especially once they got to bullying again.

Meanwhile, Yang was punching a punching bag. It was a good thing that it couldn't punch back...despite the fact that it was, you know, a "punching bag".

Of course, considering her semblance boosted her power every time she got hit, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it really WAS a punching bag.

"How's your training doing, sis?" asked Ruby. She got the feeling that Yang had been at it for quite some time. And yet, she didn't appear to be breaking a sweat. That was her older sister, alright.

Still, she didn't want her sister to strain herself. When they went to look for their mother all by themselves it didn't end up too well for them. Apparently they forgot all about the dangerous Grimm that lurked in the woods. Let's just say that there were forest rangers for a reason.

Yang decided to answer her sister's question.

"Pretty good. I think I'm going to ace the exam." stated Yang. Maybe if she was lucky she would end up becoming the leader of the team...though she did admit that she was more of a fighter than a leader.

Maybe being a leader wasn't her thing.

"Good...I bet you'll ace it too." said the black-haired girl.

"Mm-hmm. So how are you training?" questioned the blonde.

"I'm cutting down chaff with my scythe! It's surprisingly handy for it!" bellowed Ruby.

Curious, Yang noticed that Ruby was wearing a farmer hat.

"That's what a scythe is for..." pointed out Yang. Personally she wondered when scythes went from being used by farmers to manage their crops to being used to hunt down Grimm. Maybe the Grimms decided to take a visit to their farm one day? It could get rather frustrating working on the crops sometimes...and Grimms were attracted to emotions like that.

"Oh..." acknowledged the teenage girl. Maybe she should become a farmer one day...after she had graduated from Beacon Academy.

"So...are any of your friends training too?" questioned the blonde.

"Well, all Blake seems to be doing is reading a book...oh wait, she's reading about a book about how to kill Grimm. Go figure." stated Ruby.

Sure enough, Blake was reading a book detailing how to do just that.

"Go for the jugular...alright, just because I'm a Faunus doesn't mean that I bite my victims to death..." stated Blake.

Meanwhile, Weiss was experimenting with dust to see if she could make it more lethal to Grimm. Though the label on the dust said that mixing it wasn't such a good idea, Weiss wasn't the one to leave it to the professionals.

However, most of them exploded in her face.

"Sheesh, no wonder Ruby was sent flying..." stated Weiss. At least her aura was still intact.

Elsewhere Juane was trying to slash the training dummy...but he couldn't hit it.

"Darn it! Why won't it stay still!" exclaimed Juane. This was getting rather frustrating.

Oddly enough, the dummy in question actually WAS staying still. Apparently, Juane simply was poor at using a sword...despite his weapon of choice.

On the other hand, Pyrrha was doing rather good at it. If she kept it up, she actually might end up breaking the training dummy. Of course Miss Goodwitch could repair them...but still.

Nora currently was hitting the dummy with a hammer. Eagerly.

"If only it had legs...I would love to break them." thought Nora.

Naturally, Lie Ren was attacking the dummy carefully. He didn't want to end up accidentally hurting himself.

Speaking of which, Jaune just did.

"Ow!" exclaimed Jaune. He cut his finger. Now he had a booboo.

It was too bad his mother wasn't there at the academy to kiss it for him. That would be awesome.

Speaking of which, sometimes he felt homesick...even if he was outnumbered when it came to gender by his family four to one. Why did his father and mother have so many daughters and only one son, anyway? He wondered if perhaps they wanted a different family name.

Still, at least he was making progress. The last time he was here he had to be medivacked to the Beacon Academy hospital. It wasn't exactly fun for him...though admittedly the nurses there were rather attractive.

Speaking of training, as it turned out, some of the second years had decided to train as well, even though they did not have an upcoming test. They just liked to test out their skills even when the Grimm weren't around.

In this case, it was Team CFVY.

Currently, Coco was shooting her minigun at a wooden target, riddling it with bullet holes. For some strange reason her minigun never seemed to run out of bullets regardless of how much she fired...though she didn't really mind it. Bullets could be rather expensive.

However, she was rather disappointed that they weren't any hunters or huntresses that were interested in challenging her to a duel. Of course, she could go outside and look for Grimm...but Glynda Goodwitch preferred that she didn't do such a thing alone.

"I want a challenge..." complained Coco.

Likewise, Velvet was eating carrots. She heard that eating carrots would make her strong. That, and she thought carrots were absolutely delicious.

She wondered if she was living up to a stereotype while she was eating them...but she decided not to dwell on it.

Yatsuhashi ended up cutting down a training dummy with a single slice.

"Whoops." said Yatsuhashi. Someone was going to have to repair it later. Where did they put the glue?

Fox was...well, trying to be cunning like a fox. But he didn't feel like deceiving his friends. That would really tear their team apart.

At that very moment, Yang came in. She was looking for her sister so that she could talk to her about the upcoming initiation test.

"I wonder where my sister is..." stated Yang, looking around the room.

"Excuse me, do you know where my sister i-"

Suddenly, she noticed Coco.

"There you are!" exclaimed the blonde, feeling rather excited.

"Huh?" asked Coco, confused.

"Hmm...I didn't know that you liked to wear sunglasses indoors. And since when do you wield a minigun? Oh well." stated Yang. Maybe her sister had decided that wielding a scythe was something that was not for her.

On the other hand, her scythe was already a gun...

"Since when do I wield a minigun? I've had this thing ever since I went to Beacon Academy...and even before then!" exclaimed Coco.

"Really? You never told me about it before...and I thought you wielded a scythe." said the blonde.

"What are you talking about? And I don't wield a scythe. I'm not the Grim Reaper...though admittedly I do cut down lots of Grimm..." answered the fashionista.

"You've been carrying a scythe ever since you were at Signal Aca-"

"There you are, sis!" exclaimed Ruby.

Curious, Yang looked behind her and noticed Ruby.

"What? But you were just-"

"Wait, how did I beat myself here?" asked the huntress that was a little young to be at Beacon Academy.

Coco raised an eyebrow.

"You never told me there was a mirror here, Yatsuhashi..." stated Coco.

"There...isn't." answered Yatsuhashi. He was feeling creeped out all of a sudden.

Curious, Ruby and Coco began to examine each other.

"Are you some sort of emissary sent from the future to warn your past self not to do something stupid?" asked Ruby. That seemed like something that Weiss would do.

"I've never heard of those. Has my past self been playing with a time machine?" inquired Coco.

"Well, time would fly while I was making it." noted the brunette.

"This has become a WEIRD day." stated Yang.

"Maybe Coco found a way to make a copy of herself?" asked Yatsuhashi.

"Maybe she did...I suppose two are better than one." answered Velvet. She was worried that the clone would turn on the original though. Perhaps they wanted to be the only one of themselves.

"So...are you ready for the Emerald Forest test? I already took mine a long time ago..." stated Coco.

"I think so. Who did you get partnered with?" asked Ruby.

"I got partnered with Yatsuhashi. We've been the best of friends ever since." answered the fashionista.

"Oh. Maybe whoever I get partnered with will become the best of friends too." said Ruby.

"You sure you're not MORE than friends?" asked Yang.

"Very funny..." stated Coco, her cheeks turning red as Yang mentioned that. That was not the first time that people has asked about the relationship between the duo...and now that she thought of it it probably wasn't going to be the last.

"See you later, other me!" exclaimed Ruby as she left along with Yang.

"See you later, other...me?" questioned Coco as Ruby and Yang left.

"Whew, that was rather strange." noted the scythe wielder.

"It certainly was, sis." nodded Yang. How many students were there at the academy that looked just like her sister? She might have a hard time looking for her if there were more of them.

Now that she thought of it, she wondered if she had a double at the academy as well. It was a possibility...though she was going to take pride in her hair regardless of whether others had the same hairstyle and hair color or not. It was kind of precious to her. Maybe it reminded her of her mother?

Curious, Ruby decided to check how Jaune was doing. She was worried that somebody was bullying him again. Her sister had even kicked him through the wall after somebody put that Kick Me note on his back. It was rather frightening.

Fortunately, he was alright.

"Yes! I hit the dummy!" exclaimed Jaune. His work had paid off...even if he had several cuts and bruises for his trouble. Maybe if he got really lucky he could hit it again.

"Congratulations!" cheered Ruby. She was so proud of Juane.

"Thanks..." stated the blonde. It was a difficult accomplishment.

"Want to see me attack the dummy?" asked the brunette.

"Um, sure..." nodded Jaune.

Immediately, Ruby began to attack the dummy with her scythe.

Jaune was rather impressed with how fast she swung, to say the very least.

Of course, since he heard a rumor that her uncle was the legendary Qrow, maybe that wasn't such a big surprise. Qrow could take down thousands of Grimm without breaking a sweat. Even the elder Grimm seemed rather frightened of him. Perhaps that was part of the reason why they didn't actively attack humans.

He could probably say the exact same thing about his family name too...now nowadays his family appeared to be made of heroines instead of heroes...not that their father minded. As long as there were heroes in their family name, it didn't matter what gender they were.

"So, are you ready for the exam? I think it's going to be tomorrow..." stated Ruby.

"It's tomorrow?" asked Jaune, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Yeah...the headmaster said that he didn't want to keep us waiting for too long. Besides, it's important for us to all get teams...they really minimize the casualties in our line of work." pointed out the niece of the legendary Qrow.

"Yeah...they do..." nodded the blonde. Of course, he was starting to wonder if his potential teammates would want to keep him around. He was having trouble fighting...and he didn't want to handicap his team.

"I hope that whoever you end up being teammates with, you can get along with them well enough to work together properly..." stated Ruby.

"Yeah, me too..." nodded Jaune. Personally he was worried that he might end up being partnered with the bullies that tossed him in the dumpster. Something told him that if he shared the same room with them there was going to be...problems.

But he would cross that bridge if he came to it.

Suddenly, Ruby noticed Cardin entering the room.

"Can I help you?" asked Ruby.

"I'm here to watch Jaune train..." answered Cardin.

"It's good to see that you're enthusiastic about it..." stated the brunette.

"Actually, I think I'll have my partner do most of the actual work..." said the slacker.

"You sure about that?" questioned Ruby.

"Of course I'm sure. It will be easy." stated the bully.

"I'm not sure if your partner will appreciate that..." stated the brunette.

"Who cares?" questioned Cardin.

"Well, you're going to be working for them for the next four years..." said Ruby.

"Then I'll sponge off them for four years." answered the mace wielder.

"Um..." stated the fifteen-year-old. That seemed REALLY lazy.

Curious, she noticed that Cardin appeared to be laughing at Jaune's expense. He had injured himself with his sword again.

"Hey, that's not nice!" bellowed Ruby.

"So what?" asked Cardin.

"You should treat him with respect!" exclaimed the brunette.

"Now what fun would that be?" asked the bully.

"It would be fun for him!" bellowed Ruby.

Eventually, Cardin decided to leave. As much fun as it would be to watch Juane hurt himself, he figured that he should try bullying other students. The Faunus always seemed to be acceptable targets at the academy...even if the teachers didn't see things that way. Why did they have eyes like a hawk?

Well, technically THEY were hunters.

Suddenly, Ruby decided to ask Jaune a question.

"Why aren't you using your aura?" asked Ruby. He would have a lot easier time with the training dummy if he simply used it like everyone else. But oddly enough, he was not.

"My...aura?" questioned Jaune.

"Didn't they cover that at Signal Academy?" questioned the brunette. It was in her first day of school, in fact.

"Y-yes, of course!" exclaimed the blonde.

"If you want I could try unlocking it for you..." stated Ruby.

"Sure, why not." said Jaune. Of course, he was starting to worry if Ruby was going to figure out about his little secret.

Immediately, Ruby began to unlock Juane's aura.

It only took a few minutes.

"Done!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Already?" asked Jaune.

"Well, I am super fast..." pointed out the brunette.

"Oh yeah..." acknowledged the blonde. She could probably run through Beacon Academy in its entirety in about five minutes...though Miss Goodwitch would probably scold her for running in the halls.

 _Meanwhile in the Emerald Forest..._

Inside the forest construction workers were setting up signs that pointed to the shrine so that none of the students got lost. If they were in the forest for too long, they would have to pull them out. Grimm did get more aggressive at night than they were in the daytime.

"You think that the students will pass the intiation test?" asked Glynda Goodwitch.

"I'm confident than they can succeed...nobody's ever failed this exam before..." answered Professor Ozpin.

"I suppose." nodded the female teacher. Perhaps she was underestimating her students.

"I just hope that they listen to the rules. I wouldn't want any trouble now!" exclaimed Professor Port.

"Neither would I. I think I'll watch the TV to see if anything happens!" bellowed Dr. Oobleck. You never know what type of Grimm would show up...though fortunately most of the Grimm in the forest were not particularly threatening to novice Hunters and Huntresses at all. It was kind of a place for newbies.

Of course, there was the rare Grimm that had lived much longer than those around it, but he was sure that they could handle them too. What was the point of life if you know, you didn't live a little?

"I just wonder whose going to be on which team..." thought Professor Ozpin.

 _As I said, Coco and the rest of Team CFVY would be featured in this chapter. Of course, I decided to make a joke about her appearance. Not that I don't like Coco though. Her skills at cutting down herds of Grimm are rather impressive...she even managed to take down some Nevermores and a Death Stalker without breaking a sweat. Of course, Nora managed to take down a giant King Taijutu by herself, even though technically she's a first year. It's weird._

 _In the next chapter, well, you probably know what's going to happen next. But in case you're not aware of what's going to happen in the next chapter...it's going to be the Emerald Forest initiation test. Isn't it awesome!_

 _Of course, the partners probably aren't going to be what you're expecting. Heh heh._


	5. Chapter 5: Emerald Forest

_In this chapter, our protagonists are going to take the initiation test. And yes, I'm aware that normally they would be starting the test sooner...but I figured I would give myself time to write for characters such as Coco and her friends._

 _Since you're probably looking forward to some action, there's going to be some Grimm fighting in this one. And of course some of the hunters-in-the-making will find their partners. Eventually, everyone will have one._

 **Chapter 5: Emerald Forest**

Ruby woke up with a start. Her alarm clock had gone off.

Oddly enough, her sister was still sleeping regardless. Maybe she was a rather heavy sleeper. It wouldn't be a surprise considering all the training that she did.

However, Ruby was asking herself something.

Why exactly DID she set up her alarm clock?

Suddenly, she remembered.

"Oh, that's right. Today's the big day!" exclaimed Ruby. She didn't want to be late for it. That would be rude. Miss Goodwitch would be so sourly disappointed.

Of course, with her superhuman speed, she NEVER was late. It was time for her to get on a team with three other people. Who would the leader be?

Immediately, she dashed out of her room.

Suddenly, Yang woke up, stretching out her arms.

"Well, that was a rather refreshing nap..." noted the blonde. It was nice to have a good night's sleep after training for so long.

Curious, she noticed that her sister was not in her bed.

"Ruby? Where did she go?" asked Yang.

Oh wait, that was right. Today was the day that they were going to take the Emerald Forest test. It was rather standard procedure...though this year they were going to let the students train for a week in order to help protect them from the Grimm. It was a safety thing.

Meanwhile, Ruby headed to where the test was supposed to take place.

It appeared that she was the first one there. There was no sign of any of the other students. In fact, she wondered if she had made a mistake as to what day the test was going to be.

Either that, or she had simply gone to the wrong location. It did look like an emerald forest to her...but what did she know about geography?

"Yang? Jaune? Weiss? Anybody?" asked Ruby as she began to look around.

Suddenly, she noticed Headmaster Ozpin, who was standing in front of the Emerald Forest. Currently, he was admiring the scenery.

Perhaps this WAS the right place. But she decided that she had better ask him in order to make sure. She didn't want to make any mistakes now.

"Where is everyone else?" asked Ruby, looking around the area.

"You outran them..." answered Headmaster Ozpin.

"Oh...heh heh heh." stated the teenage girl. She was starting to wonder if she was as hyper as Nora was. She sure was rather enthusiastic about eating those cookies...though she preferred strawberries.

Sure enough, it appeared that the other students were eating her dust...which wasn't the stuff that Weiss kept in her suitcase. That would be dangerous.

"Ugh..." murmured Yang. Why couldn't her sister slow down for a change? Perhaps she had been playing too many Sonic games.

Immediately, she began to cough up the dust that she had consumed.

Personally, Ruby wondered if the Grimm would be able to catch her in the event that she decided to call for a retreat. Probably not.

At that very moment, Yang noticed Ruby.

"Hey there, sis!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Hey, Ruby...so you know what you're here for, right?" asked the blonde.

"Of course I do! I need to get the checker pieces!" exclaimed Ruby. After that, she would head back to Beacon Academy and she would be assigned to a 4-person team.

"You need to get the chess pieces." stated Yang.

"Oh. Well, I was close." said the fifteen-year-old girl, rubbing her hand behind her head.

"I wonder whose going to show up next?" asked the blonde.

At that very moment, Nora showed up.

"Yes! I'm here! Now all I need to do is partner up with Ren!" exclaimed Nora.

Incidentally, he didn't appear to be at the exam yet. It looks like Nora was simply going to have to wait for him.

A few minutes later, Blake showed up.

"I was taking a catnap...I mean just a nap! Just a nap!" exclaimed Blake.

"OK?" answered Yang, raising an eyebrow.

The next person to show up was Weiss, carefully carrying her suitcase so that the dust didn't end up exploding. That wouldn't be too fun for them, would it?

She seemed to be waiting for someone like Nora was.

And of course, that person was Pyrrha, who showed up a few moments later.

"Yes!" cheered Weiss. Pyrrha was here. Now all she needed to do was come up with a plan to get her to come to her side.

"Let me think..." thought the ice girl.

"So...who do you think's going to be next?" asked Pyrrha.

At that very moment, Jaune showed up.

"Am I late?" asked Jaune. He didn't want to let down the headmaster.

"No, you are not." answered Ruby. Personally she thought that she was rather early. She forgot about her superhuman speed sometimes.

"Oh thank goodness!" exclaimed the blonde.

This was followed by Lie Ren.

"Hey." said Ren.

Nora began to squeal.

"Yes! Ren made it! Now we can become partners!" cheered Nora, raising her hands in the air.

Cardin arrived along with his friends. They didn't appear to be in a hurry. In fact, they appeared to be sneering at the other students.

"Is everyone here?" asked Headmaster Ozpin.

"I believe so, yes." nodded Ruby, pulling out her scythe.

"Alright then...I suppose you're going to want the instructions for this test..." stated Headmaster Ozpin.

Cardin yawned. He already knew what the test was going to be like. He in fact had planned for it. Now all that was left was to make eye contact with one of his friends and then have two more of his friends do the same. Then he would be all set...once they took the chess pieces, of course.

"You are all going to be entering the Emerald Forest...and you will be coming back with chess pieces. In the process, you'll need to find a partner. The first person you make eye contact with will be your partner...for the next four years." explained Ozpin.

"That's...a lot." noted Jaune.

"Yes, I know. As such, I suggest you try to get along with your partners regardless of your personality differences. See these launch pads on the floor?" asked the headmaster.

Curious, the students decided to take a look at them. They looked rather bouncy.

"You're going to use them to get into the forest. Feel free to use your own landing strategy." stated Professor Ozpin.

Juane gulped. This didn't seem like it was going to be fun. Why couldn't they have a parachute?

"Who wants to go first?" asked the professor.

"I'll do it! I'm the first one here!" exclaimed Ruby.

"I'll go second!" bellowed Nora. She was feeling like a daredevil today.

"I'll go third!" shouted Yang.

"Alright then. Just keep in mind that you don't necessarily have to take turns since there are multiple launch pads...but if you want to go in one at a time, it's fine with me." stated the headmaster.

Ruby nodded. Immediately, she used the launch pad to go into the Emerald Forest.

"This is just like when I got hit with some of Weiss's dust..." stated Ruby.

"This is just like when I sent Ruby flying with my dust..." remarked Weiss.

Unfortunately for Ruby, she hit a bird on the way down.

"Nooo! I'm a bird murderer!" cried Ruby. How could she commit such an unforgivable act?

"Cannonball!" cheered Nora as she fell into the forest.

Lie Ren did not share the enthusiasm.

Cardin smiled smugly as he used his mace to land himself in the ground. However, he noted that his teammates had ended up elsewhere in the forest.

It looks like he was going to have to look for them...but he was sure he would able to do so before anyone else did. He thought that all the other students were slowpokes...well, except for maybe Ruby.

Jaune screamed like a little girl as he was launched by the launch pad.

Oddly enough, Yang screamed like a man.

"Did that come out of my mouth?" asked Yang. That was a little embarrassing...though at least people probably wouldn't be teasing her about it like they would with Juane.

Pyrrha was not too concerned about using the launch pad, as she remained calm during her brief flight.

Of course, it helped that she had magnetic powers to draw her to somewhere soft.

"There we go." stated Pyrrha as she landed on her feet.

Likewise, Blake did not have many problems. Cat Faunus ALWAYS landed on their feet. However, she did wonder if she was going to use up any of her nine lives in the forest.

Of course, she was glad that nobody else saw her landing. That might give away her cover...though judging from her facial features maybe it wasn't that much of a disguise to begin with.

Fortunately, her good sense of smell told her that there were others in the area nearby.

Of course, it also told her that there was Grimm in the forest as well. She might not want to get too close. Sure, she would be doing a favor if she did manage to slay some Grimm on the way to the chess pieces...but she didn't want to risk her life unnecessarily either.

In the forest, Ruby was running to see who she could find to be her partner.

Perhaps it would be her big sister Yang. She was sure that she would be happy to help her find a chess piece for herself. Then they could be on the same team for the next four years.

Of course, there was also the possibility that she would end up with Weiss. Unfortunately, they had gotten to a bad start when they met. But she was sure if that happened that they could work something else.

Or maybe she could end up with Blake. Of course, she didn't seem to talk too much...but maybe she could find something that they could talk about together. She would hopefully talk to her about making the way to where the chess pieces were located. That way they could head back to Beacon Academy and relax in their safe warm beds.

However, there was one person that she would like to be partnered with that she seemed to be forgetting about...but she didn't know who it was.

"Who was it again?" asked Ruby.

Suddenly, she noticed Jaune, hanging from a tree by his underpants.

"Hey there, Jaune!" exclaimed the teenage girl. It appeared that Juane had trouble making the landing.

"Hey, Ruby." said Jaune.

Fortunately, Ruby helped Jaune get down.

"That looked like it was rather...painful." noted Ruby.

"It was, but I'm fine now...listen, are you sure you don't want a different partner? I'm not a very good fighter..." stated the blonde.

"It's alright, I think we'll be fine. Besides, the headmaster said that the first person that we made eye contact with would be our partner for the next four years...I don't think we can go back on that..." said the scythe wielder.

"I guess you're right..." nodded Jaune.

"Besides, according to the signpost, though it does technically have Grimm, the Grimm here are on a low-scale..." stated Ruby.

Sure enough, there was a sign detailing the level a hunter or huntress should be before entering the Emerald Forest. It wasn't very high at all, at 2.0.

"I guess we should stay well clear if it says we're at a 10.0." noted Jaune. His father told him that going to places like that at his current skill level would be a death sentence.

"Yeah...there are legendary Grimm there!" exclaimed Ruby. Only the teachers at Beacon Academy would be interested in going there. Those Grimm must be the stuff of nightmares.

Speaking of Grimm, suddenly a Beowulf showed up.

"Aah!" screamed Jaune.

Fortunately, he was able to cut the Beowulf with his sword, giving it a gash on the cheek.

However, this made the Beowulf rather angry.

"Grrr..." murmured the Beowulf.

"Don't be scared, Jaune! Those are the weakest Grimm in the history of ever!" bellowed Ruby. She'd heard of kittens that were more dangerous than them.

"Really?" asked Jaune.

"You should know that..." stated Ruby.

To demonstrate, Ruby decapitated the Beowulf with a single slice.

"On the other hand, there are probably more in the area..." noted the niece of the legendary Qrow.

Jaune gulped. That did not sound like fun.

"I wonder who my sister is going to get partnered with..." thought Ruby out loud.

Jaune shrugged. It could be anyone.

Meanwhile, aHe jumped in surprise. He was not expecting a Grimm to be so close to him.

However, he immediately assumed it to be one of his teammates.

He smiled. Everything was going according to plan.

But a few seconds later, he realized that it was in fact not one of his friends.

In fact, they weren't even male.

"What? A girl's wiping the floor with the Grimm?" asked Cardin. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him.

Suddenly, he remembered something. Whenever two hunters made eye contact with each other, they would end up being partnered for four years.

He was NOT looking forward to working with a girl.

Quickly, he began to walk away before it was too late.

Unfortunately, it already was too late.

Suddenly, Yang made eye contact with him. She immediately smiled.

"Hey there! Want to help me fight the Grimm? Granted, I'm doing pretty well by myself...but I think it'll be more fun if we work together..." noted Yang.

"Damn it!" exclaimed Cardin, slamming his mace against a tree.

"Is something the matter?" asked the blonde.

"I don't want to work with a girl!" screamed the bully.

"Really? If you want I could try to pretend to be a boy..." stated Yang.

Immediately, she began to lower her voice so that it sounded more masculine.

"Hey, man. How's it going? Want to do boyish things?" asked the blonde.

"Grrr..." murmured Cardin. Things were not going according to plan.

Speaking of which, he wondered who one of his friends was going to end up with now that he already had a partner.

Meanwhile, Russell was looking for Cardin.

"Where is he? He said we were supposed to meet here..." stated Russel. Of course, there was the possibility that he had forgotten where they had supposed to meet.

Why couldn't he rely on him? He did say that he wanted to be leader of the group.

He was starting to wonder if he was REALLY cut out for the job.

Meanwhile, Nora was looking for Ren.

"Rennie! Where are you?" asked Nora. Did he chicken out and go back to Beacon Academy? She certainly hoped not. They were looking forward to this.

Quickly, she began to run through the forest.

In the process, she wasn't paying attention to where she was going.

Likewise, Russel was in a hurry to find Cardin.

Inevitably, they ended up crashing into each other.

"Oof!" bellowed Nora.

"Ow!" exclaimed Russel.

Russel was rather annoyed at the occurrence, to say the very least.

"Watch where you're going!" demanded the school bully.

"Sorry! I was looking for Ren! I wanted to be his partner!" exclaimed Nora.

"Partner? Wait a minute..." stated Russel.

At that very moment, he realized that he was going to be with Nora with four years.

"And Cardin's going to kill me...perfect, just perfect!" exclaimed Russel.

Suddenly, Nora grabbed Russel by the arm.

"Let's go look for Ren together!" exclaimed Nora.

"Whoa!" bellowed Russel, his eyes widening in surprise. He tried to break free, but Nora had an iron grip. Just how strong was she?

"Ren, here I come!" shouted the hammer wielder.

"What have I gotten myself into?" thought Russel as he was dragged across the forest floor.

 _Guess what? Ruby's going to be with Jaune and Cardin's going to be with Yang...and yes, things didn't go according to plan. Heh heh heh._

 _In the next chapter, we're going to see who Ren is...and who HE get partnered with. We're also going to see who Weiss gets partnered with too. And we'll get to see who Blake ends up with...you want to know that, right?_


	6. Chapter 6: Partnering Up

_In this chapter, more people are going to partner up...in fact, everyone's going to have a partner by the end of this chapter. Of course, there's still the matter of getting the chess pieces to see what the team of four is going to be. And yes, things will be different than they are in canon._

 _And unfortunately, Nora's not partnered with Ren...don't worry, she's still going to have a bright future ahead of her in Beacon Academy. I promise!_

 **Chapter 6: Partnering Up**

Lie Ren sat near a waterfall in the forest. Fortunately, it appeared to be rather quiet here. In fact, there didn't appear to be any Grimm in this area of forest. Maybe they hanged out somewhere where it was more peaceful.

Since Nora was more energetic than he was (much, much more energetic), he figured that rather than look for her, he should simply wait for Nora to find him in the forest.

Little did he know that at that very moment, someone else was approaching him instead.

"Hmm...according to my nose, there's another hunter here...I wonder who it could be." stated Blake. Taking a closer sniff, she noted that this particular hunter smelled like a lotus flower. Maybe he was some sort of gardener?

Oddly enough, despite being a cat Faunus, Blake did not mind the water much. She in fact was a fairly decent swimmer. It wasn't something that she would openly admit to the cat Faunus...just like she wouldn't admit that she was a Faunus to humans. She was not looking forward to having rotten tomatoes thrown at her every time she tried walking down the street.

Curious, she noticed Lie Ren sitting by himself in the forest. Since he appeared to be rather lonely, she decided to talk to him.

"Shouldn't you be looking for the chess pieces?" asked Blake. Due to the fact that she had a rather good sense of smell, it wasn't difficult for her to find them.

However, she decided that she should have a partner just in case. Sometimes her sense of smell could be thrown off by something else.

Curious, Lie Ren looked around...

...and realized his mistake.

"Darn it." murmured Ren.

"Is something the matter?" asked Blake.

"Nora was hoping to meet with me...but it looks like I'm not going to be her partner..." stated Ren.

"Sorry about that..." apologized the cat girl.

"It's alright...I'm sure that she'll understand." said the black-haired boy. Even if they didn't end up on the same team they could always interact with each other when they weren't on missions.

"Just for the record, I don't think the chess pieces are far from here..." noted Blake.

"At least that's something..." stated Ren.

Suddenly, they began to hear the sound of mice squeaking.

"Did you hear something?" asked the quiet boy.

A few minutes later, some Rattlers showed up. They resembled giant rats...but of course they also had familiar Grimm characteristics, such as black fur and red eyes.

Older Rattlers tended to be a problem for farmers, as they had gotten the idea of attacking the human's food supply in order to handicap them.

Fortunately, these particular Rattlers were younger Grimm and therefore weren't very dangerous.

Oddly enough, Ren noticed that they seemed to be going for him and that none of them seemed to be going for Blake. He wondered why.

Of course, Blake already knew the answer to that.

Since they were partners, the two of them quickly found themselves working together to take them down.

Fortunately, it appeared that they combated each other's fighting style rather well, though they both had a tendency to fight defensively instead of offensively.

Eventually, the Rattlers were all exterminated.

However, shortly afterwards, they were attacked by one of the Grimm's underwater predator. Yes, the Grimm had adapted to the water so that they could attack boats...though like the Grimm they had encountered earlier these Grimm were rather young and inexperienced.

In this case, they were Piranha-like Grimm known as Munchers. As with other Grimm, they were black and had red eyes. Also, they could smell blood.

Immediately, they leapt out of the water and attempted to bite Ren and Blake.

"I didn't know that some Grimm were aquatic..." answered Ren.

"Let's just say that you need to be careful when you go fishing..." noted Blake. It was a good idea to try to be patient during fishing...even if there weren't Grimm in the water.

Fortunately, it appeared that they could avoid them simply by staying away from the water.

"Can you pick up Nora's scent?" asked Ren.

"What would you say that she smells like?" inquired Blake.

Ren questioned why Blake was asking that, but he decided to tell Blake anyway.

"I'd say that she smells like maple syrup judging from all the pancakes that she eats." stated Ren.

Curious, Blake decided to look for that sense of smell.

Sure enough, she COULD smell the stench of pancakes.

Oddly enough, she could also pick up the stench of sweat socks. What was going on?

As it turned out, Nora was still dragging Russel by the arm.

"Can you let go of my arm already? It's getting rather sore..." stated Russel.

"Alright. Let's find another method of transport!" exclaimed Nora.

"Like...what?" asked the school bully.

"Like that Ursa over there!" bellowed the hammer wielder.

"I'm not so sure that's such a good idea..." warned Russel.

"Come on! It will be fun!" exclaimed Nora.

Once again, Nora dragged Russel with her.

She then hopped on the Ursa's back.

"Come on! Get going!" bellowed Nora, whacking the Ursa with a hammer.

Immediately, the Ursa began to run towards the chess pieces.

"All aboard the Nora express!" cheered the hammer wielder.

"Choo choo?" questioned Russel.

Meanwhile, Weiss was trying to come up with a way to find Pyrrha.

Suddenly, she remembered something. She happened to have a wind-up plushie of Pyrrha that was on sale the other day.

Maybe she could use that to draw Pyrrha out.

Immediately, she began to pull on the string.

"I have a really magnetic personality!" exclaimed Pyrrha.

"Hahaha." laughed Weiss.

Weiss pulled the string again.

"I love Pumpkin Pete's!" bellowed the huntress.

"Of course she does. Why do you think she's on the box?" asked Weiss.

Weiss pulled the string once more.

"Do you want my autograph?" inquired the plush.

"I won't be getting your autograph unless YOU show up." stated the ice huntress.

At that very moment, Pyrrha did show up.

"Yes!" cheered Weiss.

"I see that you're a fan of my work." stated Pyrrha.

"Of course I am. I figured that since I was the smartest and you were the strongest student in the academy we'd be unstoppable together." said the ice huntress.

"I can see that logic...but being smart and strong isn't everything." pointed out the popular girl.

Weiss sighed. She supposed that Pyrrha did have a point.

"Perhaps we should also try to find someone that's agile and someone that's stealthy...that way the party will be balanced..." suggested Pyrrha.

"That would be a good idea. Perhaps there's more than you than your popularity and strength..." noted Weiss.

"Of course there is. I have a life outside the fame and fortune, in case you were wondering." answered the redhead.

"Right..." nodded the ice huntress. Now that she thought of it, as a heiress of a Dust company, she was rather popular herself...and of course, there was more to her than that as well.

Suddenly, they began to hear the sound of a snake hissing.

"Oh dear...it looks like a Grimm has found us..." noted Pyrrha.

"I wonder which species it is?" questioned Weiss. Her big sister told her that there were many types of Grimm...but they all had it out for humanity one way or another.

Of course, they also had it out for Faunus, but so did the humans. They probably shouldn't judge them for THAT.

As it turned out, it was a King Taijutu. Weiss wondered why it had two heads. Added intelligence, maybe?

"Hiss..." said the two snakes.

"How are we supposed to fight that thing?" asked Weiss. It was a good thing that it wasn't two against one or it might be more difficult.

"Well, technically it is cold-blooded...I heard that you have ice dust, do you not?" questioned Pyrrha.

"Huh? Oh yeah..." stated the ice huntress.

Immediately, she tried hitting the King Taijutu with ice dust.

This worked surprisingly well. Apparently, the King Taijutu was having trouble keeping its body heat all of a sudden.

"Since there are two heads, maybe I could take on one and you can take on the other..." stated Pyrrha.

Ironically, it was starting to become apparent that Pyrrha was more strategic than she was. Perhaps she had misjudged her.

Well, it was too late to change her partner now. Besides, she got the feeling that she would enjoy working with Pyrrha regardless. She just wondered who her two other teammates were going to be once she got out of the forest.

She was a bit worried that one of them might be Ruby due to how reckless she was. And yet, she got the feeling that she was surviving the Emerald Forest about as well as she was. Maybe she was misjudging her a bit.

Speaking of which, Ruby was dashing through the forest to get to the chess pieces.

However, she quickly realized that she was forgetting something.

"Wait for me..." stated Jaune.

"Whoops!" exclaimed Ruby. In her haste, she had forgotten that Juane couldn't keep up with her...his shield and sword were probably slowing him down.

Oddly enough, Ruby's scythe never seemed to slow her down...she was just as fast with it than without it.

"Can I spend a minute to...catch my breath?" asked the blonde.

"Of course!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Thanks." said Jaune, panting heavily.

Ruby noted that Jaune was sweating all over.

She was starting to wonder if there was a way for Juane to keep up with her somehow.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"I know! Why don't I grab your hand?" asked Ruby.

Juane began to blush. He had never held hands with a girl before...except for his mother, of course.

But before he could say anything, Ruby grabbed his hand.

She then began to dash her way through the forest.

However, she realized that she was forgetting something once again.

Quickly, she let go of Jaune.

But at this point, he was already vomiting.

"Ugh..." murmured Jaune, clutching his stomach.

"Darn it! I forgot you had motion sickness!" exclaimed Ruby. This was a rather ironic teamup, wasn't it?

"Sorry about that..." apologized the blonde. Apparently, they were going to need to make their way to the chess pieces...CAREFULLY.

"It's alright. It's not your fault..." stated the brunette...though she did admit that she probably COULD outrun a moving vehicle.

Suddenly, she began to hear the sound of roaring.

"Wait, what was that?" asked Ruby.

As it turned out, it was a Bagheerah...a panther-like Grimm that was rather agile.

Fortunately, it appeared that like most Grimm in the Emerald Forest, it was rather young and not very threatening. However, Ruby did note that it did seem to be older than the Beowulves that she had encountered earlier...which meant that it would put up a fight.

Suddenly, she heard Jaune scream like a little girl.

"Whoa! Was that you? Or did I just scream?" asked Ruby. She didn't want to scream too loudly since that would attract more Grimm...since they feasted on fear.

Sure enough, she noticed two Beowulves nearby. Perhaps they had heard the scream.

"That was me..." stated Jaune, rubbing his hand behind his hand.

"You scream an awful lot like I do..." noted the scythe wielder.

Speaking of which, Yang also heard the scream.

"Oh no! Ruby's in trouble! I have to save her!" exclaimed Yang.

"But what about getting the chess pieces?" asked Cardin.

"We can do that after we save Ruby!" bellowed the blonde.

"Alright, fine. But once we save her we'll go back to looking for the chess pieces...alright?" questioned the bully.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you!" exclaimed Yang.

"Where do you think she is, though?" asked Cardin.

"Maybe she's in that dark cave...it seems rather scary." noted the blonde.

Sure enough, there was a cavern nearby.

"Maybe the chess pieces are in there?" inquired the bully.

"I was thinking Ruby was inside...but I suppose that could also be it." stated Yang. It would be nice to kill two Nevermores with one stone.

Curious, Yang and Cardin investigated.

However, they quickly noticed that it was getting harder and harder to see anything.

"Did you bring a light?" asked Cardin.

"I don't need a light. I have my semblance." stated Yang.

Immediately, Yang lighted herself up.

Curious, she noticed that there was a light in the distance. Hopefully it wasn't the light in the end of the tunnel...though they didn't seem to be dying yet.

Quickly, Cardin grabbed onto it, assuming that it was the chess piece.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't it at all.

As it turned out, it was a Death Stalker...which wasn't too happy with Cardin for intruding in its territory.

Cardin gasped in shock.

Shortly afterwards, he ran out of the cave screaming.

Sure enough, Yang quickly noticed this.

"Huh. I guess he's more bark than bite." stated Yang. It wasn't much of a surprise, considering that Cardin liked to bully students that he considered to be weaker than himself.

Still, she quickly realized that she was going to have to cover Cardin so that he could make his escape.

"Well, I guess it's time for me to be a heroine." stated Yang.

Immediately, she began to fire rounds from her Ember Cecila at the Death Stalker.

Fortunately, it appeared to be rather effective, as the Death Stalker began to screech. Either that, or it was getting rather angry...or maybe both.

However, she got the feeling that since the Death Stalker was much older than the Grimm that they had encountered earlier, it probably wasn't going down without a fight.

As such, she decided to both RUN and shoot, since it lacked ranged options.

Eventually, she ran out of the cave with the Death Stalker in far pursuit.

However, she was still worried about her sister. Would she be alright without her? She got the feeling that she could fight for herself, but she wasn't sure.

As it turned out, she was trying to fight the Bagheerah.

"I sure hope that my curiosity is going to kill the cat this time..." stated Ruby.

Immediately, she slashed the Bagheerah with her scythe to see what would happen.

However, though it did injure the Bagheerah, it appeared that it wasn't going to go down easily.

In retaliation, the Bagheerah attempted to claw and bite her.

Fortunately, she was fast enough to avoid it.

"Missed me!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Yeah! You can do this, Ruby!" cheered on Jaune.

However, in the process, he ended up attracting the Bagheerah's attention.

As it turned out, the Bagheerah was able to determine that Jaune was easier prey than Ruby was...similar to how a cat of prey would look for the easiest target out in the world. For some strange reason, Grimm had a tendency to both look and act like animals...though not all Grimms did resemble animals.

Immediately, it pounced on top of Jaune.

Once again, Jaune screamed.

Sure enough, Yang heard it once again.

"Ruby!" screamed Yang.

Suddenly, she noticed Cardin cowering in a corner.

Immediately, she picked him up.

"What the-" exclaimed Cardin.

"We need to find Ruby now!" bellowed Yang, carrying Cardin bridal style.

"This is...kind of awkward." thought the school bully.

On the plus side, it appeared that the Death Stalker had lost them. Maybe it had gone back into its cave?

Meanwhile, the Bagheerah was looking forward to killing Jaune...or making him terrified anyway. Maybe it could simply wait for Juane to stop being afraid before killing him to spread some more terror.

However, Ruby was not looking forward to the idea of Jaune dying.

"Hey! Don't use Jaune as a scratching post!" bellowed Ruby.

Immediately, Ruby attacked the Bagheerah once again, this time leaving a nasty gash on its side.

However, this made the panther Grimm VERY angry.

Quickly, it pounced towards Ruby...and roared rather loudly.

This made Ruby frightened, and she then dropped her scythe.

"Uh-oh..." thought Ruby. It was times like this when she wished that she was good at hand-to-hand combat like her sister was.

Slowly, the Bagheerah began to approach her.

"Easy there, kitty! You wouldn't want do anything hasty!" exclaimed Ruby, stretching out her arms in front of her.

At that very moment, Jaune wondered what he should do.

He could run around like a coward...or he could risk his life to help Ruby.

However, he then remembered that Ruby had risked her life to protect HIM, and decided that he should return the favor.

Fortunately, he had an opportunity to be a hero.

Immediately, he pulled out his sword...and chopped off the Bagheerah's tail.

A few seconds later, the Bagheerah began to scream in pain.

This gave Ruby the opportunity to pick up her scythe and slice the Bagheerah in half.

Jaune sighed in relief. It looked like the nightmare was finally over.

Suddenly, Ruby beckoned Jaune to give her a high five.

Juane was rather surprised at the occurrence. No girl had asked him to give him a high five before.

Nonetheless, he decided to do so.

"I'm so glad that you're my partner!" cheered Ruby.

"But I'm a weakling..." pointed out Jaune.

"I don't think you're a weakling! If it weren't for you I could have been catnip!" exclaimed the fifteen-year-old.

"If you say so..." stated the blonde. He was rather glad that Ruby was with him too. Otherwise, he'd probably be dead by now.

At that very moment, Yang and Cardin showed up. Immediately, Yang put Cardin down.

"There you are! I was so worried about you!" exclaimed Yang, hugging her sister.

"How come?" asked Ruby.

"I heard you screaming..." explained the blonde

"Actually, that was me..." stated Juane.

"You scream like a little girl? Hahahaha!" laughed Cardin.

"You're one to talk, I saw you cowering in fear after we encountered that Death Stalker." stated Yang.

Cardin frowned.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." said the bully.

"Sure you don't." answered Yang.

Cardin sighed.

"Can we please get back to finding the chess pieces? I want to become an official hunter already!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Whatever makes you happy." stated Yang.

Together, the four of them began to look for the chess pieces.

 _Yes, I'm going to be including some Grimm of my own design. Why you may ask? Well, I figured that Grimms would come in many shapes and sizes like we do...and yes, knowing the Grimm, they WOULD probably consider attacking the human's food supply. Famine would do them a lot of favors...and ironically it would allow THEM to feed rather than the humans._


	7. Chapter 7: Nevermore Grimm

_In this chapter, the Nevermore is going to show up. You know, the really big one. It's going to be flying through the skies, raining death from above. Not much fun for our protagonists._

 _In other words, they're going to have to try to take it down. Hopefully they have a bird hunting license...on the plus side, Yang and Ruby both have guns in their weaponry, oddly enough._

 **Chapter 7: Nevermore Grimm**

Quickly, Yang and Cardin noticed the shrine where all the chess pieces were. It looks like they had managed to reach their destination...after encounters with Grimm that would probably be haunting their nightmares in the near future.

Now all they needed to do was pick a piece and head back to Beacon Academy, however dangerous that was. Hopefully it would be about as smooth as it was when they reached the shrine.

Of course, they wanted to get out of the forest before it got dark. Not only was it scary in a forest at night time, as she knew, Grimms did get more aggressive at night, with more powerful species of Grimm showing up in places they would not otherwise. Yang had read about that in a book detailing surviving the world of Grimm. She blessed the author of that book.

"Yes! Finally! Now I can get the rook piece and team up with my friends...well, except for one..." noted Cardin. It looked like someone was going to get left out. It felt funny working with someone who wasn't his friend...but maybe he could simply hang out with them later.

Suddenly, Yang grabbed the knight piece. Incidentally, it was about as yellow as her hair was. She was expecting it to be white instead of yellow, but she decided it wasn't a big deal.

"Alright! It looks just like a horse!" exclaimed Yang. It made her feel rather excited. However, she did wonder if there was a horse Grimm somewhere.

Cardin sighed. Now he was going to have to tell his friends that they were going to be collecting knight pieces instead. He wasn't sure how they would react to that.

At least, that's what HE would be doing...if Ruby and Juane didn't decide to take the knight piece as well. As it turned out, Ruby also liked horses...and Juane would not mind the idea of riding a horse onto the battlefield. It would make him look more like a hero...and it would make transportation easier too.

"Well, crap." stated Cardin, realizing who he was going to be working with along with Yang.

"Is something the matter?" asked Yang.

"I'm going to be stuck with these losers for the next four years!" exclaimed the bully. This was so unfair. He deserved better than this. At least, he THOUGHT he deserved better than this.

"Hey, don't call my sister a loser! And you shouldn't call her potential boyfriend a loser either!" demanded Yang, putting her hands on her hips. Unsurprisingly, she hated it when people insulted her family, especially her mother since she hadn't seen her in so long.

Ruby and Jaune began to blush on the mention of a "potential boyfriend".

"Can we...just get back to Beacon Academy?" asked Cardin. He supposed he might as well since his team had already been decided...even if it wasn't exactly the team that he wanted.

"Alright, but mind the attitude. Grimms are attracted to negative emotion." warned Ruby. Her uncle had told her that once.

"Yeah, right. What's the chance of a Grimm showing up here?" questioned the bully.

Suddenly, they began to hear the familiar cry of a Nevermore...and a rather big one at that.

"Pretty good, actually." stated Yang.

Cardin gulped. This was not going to be fun. It was times like this when he wished that he had his friends backing up...of course, they were rather cowardly themselves.

Sure enough, the Nevermore began to rain feathers on top of them, forcing Ruby and her friends to scatter to avoid being hit.

And to make matters worse, the Death Stalker had shown up as well. It could sense the fear that the four possessed, it seemed.

"Oh, it's you again..." stated Yang.

However, at that very moment, Nora showed up along with Russel. She was still riding the Ursa...or as she called it, the Nora Express. It couldn't seem to shake them off.

"Yeehaw!" exclaimed Nora.

"Aah!" screamed Russel.

Yang was rather surprised at the occurrence. Since when did hunters ride Grimm to get around the world?

"How is she riding an Ursa?" asked Ruby. Personally she would rather use her semblance to get around instead. It was probably...safer.

"I have no idea either." answered Juane. Maybe Nora was simply awesome like that.

However, at that very moment, the Ursa collapsed from exhaustion. It had never run that hard before in its life.

 _Meanwhile outside the Emerald Forest..._

"Interesting." stated Headmaster Ozpin.

"What is it?" asked Glynda Goodwitch.

"It appears that one of the students is riding an Ursa..." stated the silver-haired man.

"An Ursa?" questioned the woman who was usually dressed in white. She had never seen a student do that before...and she had been watching the Emerald Forest tests for about ten years.

"I figured that there was something special about the students that are participating in this exam..." noted the headmaster.

"Is that why you invited Ruby to Beacon Academy two years ahead of schedule?" asked Glynda.

"It's not every day when a fifteen-year-old manages to thwart a dust robbery..." answered Ozpin. Especially one that had been concocted by the evil criminal mastermind Roman Torchwick. Of course, he would have been more impressed if Ruby managed to bring him to justice, but he couldn't have everything.

"Well, you've got a point there..." noted the blonde woman. Still, she got the feeling that Ruby needed to be less reckless. It was a good thing that she wasn't going to be hunting Grimm alone.

Meanwhile, back inside the forest, Nora was unhappy that she couldn't ride the Ursa anymore. It had been fun while it lasted, that was for certain...though Russel did not agree. He was worried that the Ursa might have bitten his face off.

"Darn it! I broke it!" exclaimed Nora. Now she was going to have to find another vehicle. Were they any other Ursa in the forest?

"Thank goodness..." stated Russel. Never in his life had he been more terrified.

Suddenly, Nora noticed the rook piece on the pillar.

"Where are you going?" asked the teen with a mohawk.

She decided to pick it up, a wide smile forming on her face.

"I'm queen of the castle, I'm queen of the castle!" sang Nora, balancing the rook piece on her head.

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever." answered Russel.

At that very moment, Dove and Sky showed up.

"Hey." stated Russel as they picked up the chess piece.

"Yes! Now we can team up with our leader and rule this school!" exclaimed Dove.

"There might be a problem with that..." stated Russel.

"How come?" asked Sky, scratching his head.

"I ended up getting the wrong partner..." said the teen with a mohawk.

Dove raised an eyebrow. He...didn't get paired up with Cardin?

"Who'd you get partnered up with then?" asked Dove.

"This energetic girl over there..." stated Russel.

Suddenly, Nora ran up to Dove.

"Hello! Have you seen Ren?" asked Nora. She was under the impression that he would be at the shrine right now. She sure hoped that nothing bad happened to him. She would be crying her head off if Ren ended up being badly injured.

"How the heck should I know?" inquired Dove.

"Sorry to say this...but I don't think you're going to be on the same team as him." apologized the knife wielder.

"What? Aww...well, at least I got partnered with a friend!" exclaimed Nora.

"Er, yeah..." nodded Russel. Somehow, he wasn't sure how he felt about Nora yet. But at least she was friendly enough.

Suddenly, the Death Stalker noticed the bullies and began to attack them.

"Run!" exclaimed Dove.

Naturally, the bullies began to retreat. They would rather flee than spend time on the battlefield, despite technically being hunters. It was rather ironic.

They seemed to have forgotten that Grimm were attracted to fear.

However, Nora was left out of the loop, and was left behind as a result.

"Huh? Why is everyone running away?" asked Nora.

She then noticed the Death Stalker, snapping its pincers at her.

"Oh..." stated the energetic girl.

Immediately, she whacked the Death Stalker on the head with a hammer. It was rather painful, as it began to screech.

Curious, Russel, Dove, and Sky heard the Death Stalker screaming.

"Hmm, it looks like that Death Stalker is in pain..." noted Russel.

"I wonder whose attacking it?" asked Dove.

"Maybe we should go check it out..." suggested Sky.

They decided to go check on Nora...and were rather impressed with her fighting skills, to say the very least.

Though admittedly she was technically a girl, they couldn't help but cheer her on.

"Yeah! Show that oversized scorpion whose boss!" cheered Russel.

"Show them that you don't mess with the toughest guys in the Beacon Academy!" bellowed Dove.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Weiss were still fighting the King Taijutu. Hopefully they didn't end up being bitten in case the two-headed snake turned out to be poisonous.

Alternatively, it was probably in their best interest to avoid being constricted.

Fortunately, Pyrrha was able to stab the black head with her spear.

It began to screech in pain. It looked like it had been wounded. Pyrrha certainly knew how to wield her weapon, it seemed.

Likewise, Weiss used her ice dust to impale the white head.

It began to screech in pain as well.

However, the screams of pain began to attack more Grimm. Apparently, they knew at some level whenever another Grimm was being attacked.

In this case, a Shellshock showed up. In case, it's not obvious, these Grimms resembled turtles...though one could also say that they resembled tortoises. As with other Grimm, they were not friendly...at all.

Naturally, these Grimm had rather good defense, and their jaws were rather strong too. On the plus side, they weren't the fastest Grimms in the world.

However, this Grimm had decided to play it smart and wait for a target that was already occupied with another Grimm, due to it being an older member of its species.

Slowly, it began to approach Weiss, hoping to bite her.

But at that very moment, Blake and Ren showed up.

Together, they began to attack the Shellshock, who closed up into its shell in retaliation.

"How are we supposed to take it down?" asked Blake.

"It's closed up in its shell..." answered Ren.

Fortunately, at that very moment, Weiss managed to kill the white head of the King Taijutu by impaling it with several icicles.

She then noticed Ren and Blake's situation.

"Can I...help you?" asked Weiss.

"We're trying to take down this Grimm..." explained Blake. It certainly was a fighter, to say the very least.

"It's holed up in its shell..." stated Ren. From the looks of it, they were going to need stronger weapons if they wanted to break it. Too bad they weren't second or third years.

Weiss noted that there were openings in its shell, and decided to send her ice dust through them.

This worked rather well, and the Shellshock died.

Its shell disappeared shortly afterwards. Grimm had a peculiar tendency to disappear shortly after they die. It was rather disappointing to those who would want to keep the Grimms that they killed as trophies.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha had managed to kill the black head. Now there was one less Grimm in the world...or maybe two?

Quickly, she noticed Blake and Ren, and smiled. It looks like she managed to find potential teammates.

"Would you be interested in being on the same team as us?" asked Pyrrha. If they wanted to work together, they could simply collect the same chess pieces and then they would be on the same side.

"Sure, why not." nodded Blake.

Together, they set out towards the shrine.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Jaune, Yang, and Cardin found themselves facing the giant Nevermore. It was the biggest Grimm that they had seen yet, that was for certain. From the looks of it, it had lived for quite a few years. Just how long did Grimm live to be, anyway? Perhaps they were immortal in that sense.

The Nevermore circled the sky, ready to strike whenever the opportunity presented itself.

It was rather perplexing how they were going to take it down. None of them had wings, unfortunately.

Once again, the giant Nevermore began to rain feathers down on top of them.

Fortunately for Yang, Cardin, and Jaune, they were able to avoid the feathers that could potentially harm for them.

Unfortunately for Ruby, one of the feathers ended up hitting her cape, pinning her to the floor.

"Oh no!" exclaimed Ruby. Maybe she should have listened to her costume designer about wearing capes. Of course, she was rather impulsive.

Seizing its opportunity, the Nevermore began to fly towards Ruby.

"Ruby!" shouted Yang.

Ruby began to worry. Was the Nevermore going to use her as bird feed? She felt like she so much more to live for, especially if she managed to make it out of the Emerald Forest alive and pass the initiation test.

Suddenly, Jaune pointed out what Ruby should do.

"Ruby! Try cutting your cape!" suggested Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

Curious, she decided to do just that.

As it turned out, it wasn't difficult to cut her cape at all. She might need to visit the tailor to get a new cape though...though admittedly she didn't need to cut much.

Shortly afterwards, she sped out of the way...just as the Nevermore flew towards her.

Caught by surprise, the Nevermore ended up crashing into the ground.

"I think it's injured!" exclaimed Yang.

Sure enough, the Nevermore did appeared to be injured. It was having trouble getting back to its feet so that it could fly again. Why did Ruby have to dash out of the way at that particular moment?

Seizing his opportunity to kick his opponent while they were down, Cardin started hitting the Nevermore with his mace, causing it to scream.

However, it flew back into the air shortly afterwards, though it seemed a bit tired from its beating and crash landing earlier.

"Darn it! I was hoping to beat down on it some more!" exclaimed Cardin.

"I guess we're just going to have to shoot it down..." suggested Ruby.

"You got it, sis!" exclaimed Yang.

Immediately, Ruby and Yang opened fire on the Nevermore with their weapons, causing it to screech once again.

Meanwhile, Nora was still fighting the Death Stalker. Though the Death Stalker appeared to be losing energy, Nora did not appear to be exhausted in the slightest.

Cardin's friends were rather impressed with Nora's stamina, to say the very least. How much sugar did she have before she came to the Emerald Forest?

However, Russel noticed that while she was occupied dealing with the Death Stalker's pincers, it was getting ready to strike her down with the stinger.

He decided that maybe he should do something.

Immediately, he tossed knives at its tail.

The Death Stalker began to screech. It looked like Russel had done a number on its tail.

This gave Nora the opportunity to crush its exoskeleton with her hammer, killing the Death Stalker.

"Yes! I did it!" cheered Nora.

Russel smiled.

"With some help from my friends!" exclaimed the hammer wielder, looking behind her.

Apparently, she had noticed Russel tossing knives at the Death Stalker's tail in order to give it a handicap.

Immediately, she decided to head back to Beacon Academy along with her new friends...who were a bunch of school bullies.

Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Ren showed up a few minutes later.

"Hmm...it looks like the rook and knight pieces have already been taken..." noted Pyrrha.

"Well, why don't we take the bishop pieces then? We can't just stand there..." stated Weiss.

"Right...of course not." answered Blake.

Ren picked up the white bishop piece...while Weiss did the same.

"I guess we should get going now..." stated Pyrrha.

"Is there someone fighting out in the distance?" asked Weiss.

They began to wonder who it was. Hopefully they were going to make it out of the initiation test alive. It sure seemed to be a rather fierce battle, judging from the fact that several trees had been cut down.

As it turned out, Ruby and her comrades were still fighting the Nevermore. It was a rather tough bird indeed.

"Why isn't it going down?" asked Yang.

"Maybe we just need to keep fighting it a bit longer..." answered Ruby.

"I'm getting impatient..." complained Cardin, dodging another shower of feathers.

"Maybe we need to find a way to take to the skies..." suggested Jaune.

"Any ideas?" questioned Yang. Sometimes she wished that she could still ride that airship that they took to Beacon Academy. Of course, none of them knew how to pilot that thing. So much for the auto pilot.

"Maybe you could toss me at the Nevermore!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Isn't that, you know, rather reckless?" stated the blonde.

"Well, I'd probably survive if I fall...I'm made of iron..." pointed out the huntress.

"Good point..." nodded Yang.

Immediately, Yang picked up Ruby and tossed her at the Nevermore.

She landed on its back.

"Yes!" cheered Ruby.

However, the Nevermore wasn't going to play along with her plan. It began trying to shake her off.

"Whoa!" bellowed the brunette.

"Be careful, Ruby!" warned Yang.

Oddly enough, Cardin found this to be rather entertaining. Who would have thought that Ruby would end up riding on a giant Nevermore's back.

Jaune was glad that Ruby hadn't sent him for that particular task. He would get motion sick for sure.

However, he noticed that the Nevermore was heading towards a cliff.

"Look out!" warned Jaune.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

As it turned out, due to the fact that the Nevermore was still trying to shake her off, it wasn't paying attention to where it was going.

Fortunately, Ruby noticed where she was going, and she immediately leapt off.

As she said, she wasn't hurt at all...though it was a rather exciting descent.

She landed on the forest floor and dusted herself off.

As for the giant Nevermore, it kept on going and crashed into the cliff...at about 150 miles per hour.

"Did we kill it?" asked Ruby.

The Nevermore disappeared into darkness shortly afterwards.

"I'll take that as a yes." stated the brunette.

Yang gave Ruby a hug shortly afterwards.

"Way to go, sis! I'm so proud of you!" cheered Yang.

"I can't breathe..." murmured Ruby.

"Way to go, Ruby! You slayed the Nevermore!" cheered Jaune.

"Good job...I guess." stated Cardin. He couldn't believe that a girl could take down something that big...though he will admit that it was rather impressive regardless.

"Right then, let's head back to Beacon Academy now, shall we?" asked Ruby.

Immediately, the four of them headed back towards the academy.

Sure enough, everyone else was heading back as well.

Headmaster Ozpin told them that it would soon be time before the results were in and they could see which team they were on. Of course, they all had a general idea as to what team they were going to be on.

The only question was who was going to be leader. It could be any one of them really.

Of course, whoever was leader had a responsibility ahead of them. Hopefully they could manage.

"Whoever becomes leader...I'll be rooting for them!" exclaimed Ruby.

 _I hope that you liked this chapter...you may be able to guess who's going to be leader of their respective teams, but maybe not._

 _In the next chapter, there's going to be some team assigning. Whose going to end up on whose side?_


	8. Chapter 8: Part Of A Team

_In this chapter, everyone's going to be assigned to a team...that of course includes Ruby, Juane, and the like. You'll probably like the team names that I came up with._

 _Meanwhile, Roman is going to be up to something bad. If you've been watching RWBY, you probably already know what he's up to...but I'm not going to spoiler everything._

 **Chapter 8: Part Of A Team**

Ruby was happy to be back at Beacon Academy after her initiation test, though she got the feeling that she would be facing more dangerous Grimm in the future. No doubt there were more dangerous species of Grimm than the ones that she faced earlier.

Likewise, it appeared that her friends were happy to be back at the academy as well. After being there for a week, it felt a bit odd to be leaving it so suddenly...though admittedly it had only been an hour since they went into the forest and back.

Now all that was left for them to get their assigned teams. Fortunately, Headmaster Ozpin was ready to handle it. He was well aware which team had gotten which chess pieces. Of course, he had been monitoring the students during the exam.

Sure enough, Ruby, Jaune, Yang, and Cardin were called first. Ruby had a smile on her face, Juane was rather nervous, Yang cracked her knuckles, and Cardin had a frown on his face knowing which team he was going to be on.

"Ruby, Jaune, Yang, Cardin, you retrieved the white knight pieces. From now on, you will be Team RAYC." stated Headmaster Ozpin. (The name in question is pronounced "race")

Now that Ozpin thought of it...it was rather ironic considering that they managed to retrieve the pieces that resembled horses. Sometimes life had its share of coincidences.

"Are we going to be racing?" asked Ruby. She wouldn't mind entering a race car and driving across the race track...though of course there was the possibility that she would end up crashing into a wall. Maybe she would get the opportunity to run over Grimm with her car.

Personally, Jaune thought it was rather ironic considering how fast Ruby was. He knew from experience...and motion sickness. It was rather ironic that they were working together.

"Ruby Rose, you are the leader of Team RAYC. Please take good care of your team...and try not to do anything reckless. I'm aware that you like to charge forward." stated Headmaster Ozpin.

Ruby's eyes widened in pleasant surprise. Despite being the youngest, she had managed to obtain the title.

Of course, Ozpin did make a good point about Ruby's love of charging forward.

"Yes!" cheered Ruby, raising her fist in the air. She was looking forward to being leader of her team...even if she technically was two years younger than her peers along with everyone else.

"Congratulations, Ruby!" cheered Jaune. He was glad that Ruby got to be the leader of the team, to say the very least.

"Juane, you are second-in-command." said the silver-haired man.

"Wait, what?" asked the blonde. That seemed like a big responsibility even if he technically wasn't leader. Of course, he did manage to mutilate that Bagheerah...but he was under the impression that it was a one-time fluke.

"If he's second-in-command, whose third and fourth?" inquired Yang. She was rather curious about that.

"You're third-in-command and Cardin is last-in-command..." stated the headmaster.

"Oh...well, I suppose I'm more interested in fighting than leading..." noted the blonde. Her skirmishes in the Emerald Forest were most likely proof of that.

"I'm last-in-command? You've got to be kidding me..." answered Cardin. Personally he thought that he deserved to be leader more than Ruby and Juane ever did. It just wasn't his lucky day.

Next on the list was Nora and Cardin's friends. It was kind of awkward for them considering the fact that they thought that they would be working with Cardin instead.

"Nora, you and your comrades retrieved the white rook pieces." stated Headmaster Ozpin.

"I got to be queen of the castle!" cheered Nora.

"You certainly did..." nodded Russel.

"You shall be known as Team NRDS." said the silver-haired man. (Team NRDS is pronounced "nerds"...in case you were wondering.)

"Oh the humiliation!" screamed Russel. Now people were going to think that they were nerds! They might as well start wearing glasses and get to work on computers.

On the plus side, if the name was anything to go by, he was second-in-command of the group. Of course, that also meant that Nora was leader.

She was rather excited about it, to say the very least.

"I'm queen of the team, I'm queen of the team!" exclaimed Nora. She was looking forward to being in charge of the group.

"You already said something like that back when we were in the forest...and about a few minutes ago!" pointed out Russel.

"What? When did I do that?" asked the hammer wielder, scratching her head.

"It was in the last chapter!" bellowed the bully in the mohawk. Maybe she should start reading RWBY With A Twist a bit more...and he just broke the fourth wall. Whoops.

"Oh..." stated Nora. Now she remembered. It was during her test in the Emerald Forest...also known as the moment where she managed to meet Russel and his group of friends that liked antagonizing the other students at the academy. How could she have forgotten so quickly?

Sure enough, some of the other students in the audience were laughing at them both for being "nerds". Were their days of bullying over? It certainly was a blow to their ego, that was for certain.

Next on the list was Pyrrha Nikos and her friends. Sure enough, each of the students were cheering her on. She was rather popular amongst the academy, it seemed, on account on being a celebrity and all.

Of course, her friends and family had a tendency to be rather popular too. Maybe popularity was contagious...not that they minded.

"Pyrrha Nikos, you and your comrades retrieved the white bishop pieces. You shall be known as Team PWBR." stated Headmaster Ozpin. (pronounced power)

Pyrrha found it to be rather appropriate as she considered her team to be rather strong...though she wasn't the type of person to let it go to her head. Hopefully her team would be respected instead of feared. She didn't want people to be terrified of them, they were supposed to be protecting people instead of hurting them.

Weiss looked forward to that particular name, to say the very least. However, she was a bit dismayed that she was second-in-command instead of the leader like she thought she would be. She thought that since she was the smartest she would be the leader of their respective team.

That, and she had a take-charge attitude.

Nonetheless, she was happy that Pyrrha was the leader, as she felt at some level that she deserved it. If she was happy, so was she. After all, she might not have made it out of the forest alive without her and her leadership.

Afterwards, the students were directed towards their new rooms. Incidentally, for Ruby and Yang, it was the exact same room that they were sleeping in earlier.

However, this time there were bunk beds. Apparently, the headmaster wanted to accommodate four students.

Sure enough, Juane showed up soon after Ruby did.

"Hey there! Are you glad we're on the same team?" asked Ruby. She knew she was. Now that they could work together to fight the forces of evil.

"Yeah...I'm not sure why I'm second-in-command though..." stated Juane. It seemed rather unusual considering that he couldn't put up much of a fight...at least until Ruby unlocked his aura so that he could fight better.

"You did give me good advice when that Nevermore pinned me down..." answered the brunette. Was wearing a cape really worth it?

"True..." noted the blonde.

At that very moment, Yang showed up.

"Hey there, Yang. Where's Cardin?" asked Ruby. She was under the impression that he would be here by now.

"He'll be here shortly." answered Yang.

"I'm kind of worried about working on the same team as him...I think he's rather scary." noted the brunette. Hopefully he wouldn't betray them when they were least expecting it...though considering the Grimm were enemies to him as much as they were to her and her friends, maybe not.

"Yeah, me too..." answered Jaune. Now that he thought of it, he was rather bigger than the rest of the team, despite technically not being the one in charge.

"I assure you that he's more bark than bite...once the Grimm showed up he spent most of his team in fear...it was only after you showed up that he started fighting back." stated Yang.

Unbeknownst to Yang, somebody was approaching them out in the distance.

Curious, Ruby began to hear footsteps. She had a bad feeling who it was.

Likewise, Jaune began to hear it as well. The footsteps in question sounded rather...loud. And he got the feeling that he heard them before.

"Don't worry about him. If he bullies you, just stand up to him and you should be fine." stated Yang.

At that very moment, Cardin walked towards Yang.

"I have to admit, I was under the impression that he would be...braver." answered the blonde.

Sweat began to appear on Ruby's face. Her sister just might be in danger.

Likewise, Jaune pointed behind Yang, trying to point out the raging bully that was behind her.

"Huh?" asked Yang, raising an eyebrow.

Curious, she looked behind her, and saw Cardin grimly staring her in the face.

Oddly enough, she didn't seem frightened at all.

"Oh, hello, Cardin! Good to see you made it!" exclaimed Yang, a smile forming on her face. She was starting to wonder if Cardin had forgotten what their room number was.

"Hello, Yang. Spreading lies about me, are we?" asked Cardin, looking rather cross.

As it turned out, he had heard what Yang had said about him earlier.

"What? What I was saying was the tr-"

Yang was cut off when Cardin put his hand on her mouth. Apparently he couldn't handle the truth. Why did Yang have to find out so much about him in such a short period of time?

"That's better. Now then, where was I? Ah yes. While I'm on your team, there's going to be some rules around here. If any of you put your hands on my stuff, I'm going to introduce you to my mace, you got that?" asked Cardin.

Immediately, he let go of Yang's mouth so that he could hear her answer.

"Y-yes, we won't even lay a finger on your belongings!" exclaimed Ruby. Despite being leader, she was going to listen to Cardin...that was what was good for her.

"We're not going to even think about it!" shouted Jaune, nodding up and down.

"OK, sure." answered Yang nonchalantly.

"Good." stated Cardin.

Immediately, he went to the bunk on the right side and climbed to the one on the top. He then began to rest, his hands behind his head.

Personally, Yang wondered what exactly he was keeping in his suitcase. Of course, he did say what would happen if they touched his stuff, but he probably didn't mean it.

Curious, she noticed that Ruby and Jaune were moving their bunk beds as far away from Cardin's bed as possible. It looked like they really didn't want to be on his bad side.

As such, she decided to share the same bunk bed as Cardin. She didn't really understand why her sister and her friend were afraid of him.

As it turned out, he was thinking to himself about the team that he was assigned to.

"Why did I have to be on the same team as these losers? I will admit that Yang is rather tough though..." thought Cardin. At least there's one person on this team that wasn't weak, even if she technically was a girl.

Meanwhile, Nora was checking her new room out along with her teammates. She was rather excited about it, to say the very least. It was a shame that Ren couldn't be here with her...but to honest, she was starting to get the feeling that Ren wanted some personal space.

Unsurprisingly, her bed just so happened to be pink. The teachers had allowed it to suit her personality...and she felt that pink was really her color. Of course, her teammates preferred different colors, so they would want something different.

Hopefully she would be allowed to bring in something that would let her make pancakes. She simply loved pancakes...especially when they served them at the cafeteria with butter and maple syrup.

"Why is she on the same team as us again?" asked Dove. He was having a hard time remembering it.

"I ended up being the first person who made eye contact with her...we're just going to have to deal with it..." stated Russel. He was stuck with her for the next four years...along with the rest of his friends.

Sky sighed. And to think that she was their leader too. What was Headmaster Ozpin thinking?

On the other hand, though he wasn't willing to admit it to his friends, he actually found Nora's antics to be rather amusing. It was always nice to have a good laugh every once in a while...of course, he was particularly fond of slapstick comedy.

Elsewhere, Pyrrha was getting used to her new room along with her friends as well. Since she was a celebrity, they decided to put a poster of herself to make her feel more at home...though she said that it wasn't necessary. She did think that it was nice of them though.

Fortunately for Blake, there was a bookshelf that she could use to put away her books after she was done reading them. After all, this was the place where she would most likely be doing so.

Luckily, none of her teammates were particularly noisy so she didn't have to worry about being interrupted while reading. What if she ended up on the same team as Nora?

"It's good to see that we have a nice room, ladies...and Ren." stated Pyrrha.

For some strange reason, Ren was the only male member of Team PWBR...though he didn't really mind. If he wanted to he could try simply hanging out with some male students instead of female ones. Incidentally, Nora was the only female member of Team NRDS. It was rather ironic.

Pyrrha and Weiss decided to take the bunk bed on the left, while Blake and Ren decided to take the bunk bed on the right. It seemed appropriate considering who they were partnered up with during the Emerald Forest test.

"So...what do you think we should pick for our first mission?" asked Weiss. First-year students tended to be sent on the easier missions to make sure that they didn't suffer many casualties. For more dangerous missions usually their whole team pitched in.

"Probably something small...the further we head from Vale, the stronger the Grimm get..." pointed out Pyrrha. Personally she wondered if they had some sort of hideout somewhere. It didn't seem like a place where they would want to go...at least, not until they were stronger.

"I suppose you're right." nodded Weiss. She was starting to see why Pyrrha was leader of the team, to be honest. She was admittedly a good strategist.

"Maybe we could hunt Beowulves? They're the weakest of the Grimm..." pointed out Blake. As such, they were the Grimm that the first-years tended to fight the most. They probably wouldn't cause them a lot of problems.

"Maybe we could go after an alpha then?" asked Ren. Alpha Beowulves were stronger than their regular kin and they had a position of authority over them as a result. They could be distinguished by the fact that they were larger and more feral looking.

Of course, if they wanted a bigger challenge, they could try going after the Ursas. They tended to be a bit more aggressive than the Beowulves were, and they were more resilient.

But for now, it might be best to relax in their room and get to know each other a bit better. That way they could coordinate their attacks and defenses better.

Currently, Blake was reading a book about how Vale came to be. It was a rather interesting book.

Apparently, not all of Vale's attempts to expand their borders had been successful. Apparently the Grimm didn't like it whenever the humans attempted to expand their territory. She was starting to wonder if the Grimm were the dominant species in the world instead of humans and Faunus.

Meanwhile, at Headmaster Ozpin, he was still watching the video of the students at the Emerald Forest. From what he had seen so far, he had made a good choice of leadership.

Of course, in Nora's case, she might need her teammates to make sure that she didn't do anything rash. She was definitely the strongest of the bunch though, and also the bravest. He would stand by his decision.

Likewise, Ruby would likely need her teammates to make her not do anything rash. Fortunately, she was a good strategist and could come up with a plan to fight hordes of Grimm.

And in Pyrrha's case, hopefully Weiss wouldn't be too disappointed that she wasn't chosen to be leader. Her teammates would probably not put up with her bossy attitude, though she had gradually started to warm up with the students at Beacon Academy ever since she had gone there. Hopefully being second-in-command instead of being the leader would be a good experience for her.

"It looks like everything's going alright so far..." noted the headmaster.

 _At Roman Torchwick's hideout of evil and naughtiness._..

Roman was checking a map to see where he could successfully execute a robbery without being caught by the authorities. It was rather apparent that some of them were less guarded by the authorities than others. The stores that he had already robbed in question had already been crossed out.

Of course, he wasn't expecting a girl that reminded him of Little Red Riding Hood to get involved. Where was the Big Bad Wolf when he needed him? Maybe he could try impersonating her grandmother somehow and get the jump on her...if he was any good at disguises.

Either way, it looked like he would be able to plot another robbery soon. The police had currently diverted their attention elsewhere. Apparently, somebody was running around Vale in their underpants and they were having a hard time arresting him.

However, he was currently receiving a phone call. Sure enough, the phone was ringing.

Though the phone in question did not have a caller ID (for obvious reasons they wanted to remain secretive), he got the feeling who it was. It was none other than his female employer, who wanted to contact him regarding his next move.

Though admittedly she did request a lot of him, he didn't mind too much. He was being paid through the house...though if he didn't operate discreetly he might be placed under house arrest.

"So...how's the dust gathering going? Remember, we need more if we want our plan to succeed..." asked Roman's employer. No dust meant no big explosion.

Of course, if they wanted to succeed in their plan they would also need a train. Maybe one of them was going to need to wear a conductor hat and get a license for driving trains.

"So far I've gotten a lot...but it's getting harder since I'm getting more resistance..." answered Roman.

"Ah yes...I'm sure that the police aren't too happy about what you've been doing lately...and by extension me." stated the woman. They were clearly looking forward to sticking handcuffs on his wrists and carting him off to prison.

"Nope, they're not. I'm making my way on the most wanted list, that's for sure." noted the man in a top hat.

"You sure have been a naughty boy." remarked the lady.

"I certainly have." nodded Roman.

"Remember, once you've collected enough dust...you should be heading towards Mountain Glenn." said the woman.

"Yes, of course..." answered the man.

Unbeknownst to the populace of Vale, the White Fang had secretly set up a hideout in Mountain Glenn. Since they hated humans so much, they decided to hang out in a place where humans had long vanished. Sometimes attempting to expand humanity's borders didn't work out so well.

Normally they would be in danger of the Grimm attacking them in order to feed off their fear and hatred...but due to the fact that they were already radiating fear and hatred, they did not attack them at all.

If all went right, they would be getting back on the humans that had ever so wronged them.

They were looking forward to it...a lot.

 _I hope that you enjoyed this chapter even if there wasn't any Grimm for our protagonists to fight. Rest assured, they'll be fighting more Grimm shortly. I just figured that they would want to get used to one another first, that's all._

 _Bye!_


	9. Chapter 9: Karma Is Delicious

_In this chapter, we're going to be focusing on Team NRDS...also known as Team Nerds. Hahaha. As it turns out, karma is really about to catch up to them...and it's all because of their leader Nora. Are you starting to see why Professor Ozpin chose her to be leader?_

 **Chapter 9: Karma Is Delicious**

Russel, Dove, and Sky were getting ready to cause mischief again. This time, they were going to TP the statue of the school's founder. Oddly enough, it had actually been destroyed not too long ago, but it had been repaired since then.

However, Russel was wondering something.

"Shouldn't we bring Nora with us? She is our leader..." noted Russel. Of course, he still wasn't quite sure why Professor Ozpin would choose her to be the leader of all people instead of him or one of his friends, but she was in charge nonetheless.

"We shouldn't. Why would she be interested in hanging out with a bunch of school bullies?" asked Dove. They were a rather unruly crowd...and they had never accepted new members in their group before.

Meanwhile, Nora was looking for Russel and the rest of his friends, with the exception of Cardin. He was currently laughing about how friends were now "nerds"...though in the name of their friendship he had decided not to say it in their faces.

"Russel? Dove? Sky? Where are you?" questioned Nora. Personally she wondered why they had all gotten up in the middle of the night. She was under the impression that they would still be sleeping.

Of course, she never slept for long herself. She was always full of energy.

Curious, she decided to look outside. Perhaps there was a sign of her teammates. She noted that there were a lot of stars in the sky tonight. Maybe if she was lucky one of them would be a shooting star and she would get to make a wish.

As it turned out, Russel, Dove, and Sky were wrapping up the statue with toilet paper. It turned out that a nearby store had a steady supply of it...so why not use it to their advantage? It wasn't even that expensive.

Immediately, she went outside...just as Russel, Dove, and Sky began to leave before they were spotted...unaware that they had already been noticed by their leader.

"Oh dear. It looks like they left their toilet paper behind!" exclaimed Nora. How were they going to wipe after they went to the restroom?

She decided that it would be best to write their names on the toilet paper so that someone would know to return it to them.

Immediately, she wrote down Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, and Sky Lark on the toilet paper.

"There! Now people will know that they left their toilet paper behind!" bellowed the girl. She was so glad that she was doing her teammates a favor.

Shortly afterwards, a shooting star showed up.

She decided to wish that she would get the opportunity to hang out with her teammates. That would be fun.

 _The next day..._

"Holy mother of Monty Oum! What happened here?" questioned Professor Port.

"It appears that somebody decided to have fun yesterday night...fun at our expense!" exclaimed Doctor Oobleck.

Sure enough, they had noticed what had happened to the statue. Unfortunately, they had no idea who could have done it.

At that very moment, Ms. Goodwitch showed up.

"First Miss Rose, and now this..." remarked Glynda. Of course, she got the feeling that it wasn't Ruby this time. She didn't break the statue on purpose.

Suddenly, she noticed that there appeared to be writing on the toilet paper.

Curious, she decided to investigate.

A few seconds later, she knew who was responsible.

"Let's visit the male members of Team NRDS, shall we?" asked Glynda. They had a lot of explaining to do.

Sure enough, Russel, Dove, and Sky were snickering. They had succeeded in wrapping up the statue with TP, and the school staff were none the wiser.

"Nobody will suspect a thing..." remarked Russel.

Suddenly, they heard knocking on their door.

"Huh?" asked the bully.

Curious, he opened the door.

As it turned out, it was Miss Goodwitch, and she was glaring at him.

"Um, hello...Ms. Goodwitch...how are you doing today?" inquired Russel, who was now feeling rather nervous.

"You and your friends thought it would be funny to vandalize the statue of our founder, did you?" asked Ms. Goodwitch.

"What makes you think that it was us?" questioned the bully anxiously. Sweat was dripping down his face. She was clearly onto him and his friends.

"One of the rolls of toilet paper had the names of you and your friends on it..." answered the blonde teacher.

Russel, Dove, and Sky gasped in surprise.

"What? How did that get there?" asked Dove.

"I don't get it either." answered Sky.

"You three are going to have to clean up the statue yourselves." stated Ms. Goodwitch.

"Oh man!" exclaimed Russel. That certainly wasn't going to be fun.

As they left to clean up the statue, Russel wondered who could have gotten the best of them.

Unbeknownst to them, the culprit was right underneath their noses.

"This candy bar is delicious!" exclaimed Nora, eating some chocolate. In the process, some of it ended up getting on her face...but she didn't really care. She just loved her sweets.

Curious, Cardin noticed that his teammates were being forced to clean up the toilet paper that they had placed on the statue earlier. He wondered how they had gotten caught. They had been rather good at getting away with what they had been doing as of late. Maybe this was a slip up?

Currently, Yang was punching a punching bag. Though Cardin wasn't normally fond of girls, he did have to admit how strong Yang was.

Perhaps if he needed a sparring partner he could choose her...but he wasn't looking forward to doing the same with Juane or Ruby.

Of course, if Cardin tried bullying Ruby, he doubted that he would be able to stop her from running away from him. She was simply too fast.

Elsewhere, Blake had heard that Russel, Dove, and Sky had been caught by Ms. Goodwitch for vandalizing school property. She was rather happy about it, as she felt that they were disrespectful towards Faunus.

Unfortunately, they were not in the minority.

"They wrapped up the founder statue with TP? That's really immature..." answered Weiss.

"I suppose they shouldn't have done that." nodded Pyrrha.

Ren looked outside. He had to admit, they had wrapped up the statue pretty thoroughly.

Eventually, Russel, Sky, and Dove managed to clean up the statue.

"Ugh, that took forever..." stated Russel.

"Time seemed to fly while we were WRAPPING the statue..." noted Dove.

"So, what do you want to do now? I think we're going to need to be more discreet this time..." answered Sky.

At that very moment, Jaune showed up. He had gone outside to get some fresh air.

"It sure is nice out today..." stated the blonde. For some strange reason he felt like he should have brought one of his teammates with him...but he wasn't quite sure why.

Sure enough, the male members of Team NRDS noticed him.

Suddenly, Russel had an idea.

Immediately, they picked up Jaune and began to drag him towards the mens' bathroom, snickering all the while. It was so much fun being devious.

"Hopefully we won't get caught this time..." thought Russel. He wasn't looking forward to being punished by Glynda Goodwitch again.

Sure enough, the men's restroom came in sight.

"Let me go!" demanded Jaune. Why were they always bullying him, anyway?

"Since you asked so nicely, no." answered the bully. They were going to have a lot of fun using the toilet...

However, Nora noticed them dragging Jaune by the arms, and decided to follow them.

"What are you guys doing?" asked Nora as she followed them inside the restroom.

Russel raised an eyebrow.

"You do realize that this isn't the ladies' restroom, right?" asked Russel. Was Nora being a pervert?

"Well, I was curious why you were dragging Jaune inside..." answered Nora.

"Oh, we're dunking things in the toilet..." stated Dove.

"And then we're going to flush it!" exclaimed Sky.

Jaune gulped.

In case you hadn't figured it out yet, they were going to stick Jaune's head in the toilet...and flush it. Of course, he probably couldn't breathe while his head was submerged in the toilet...but it would only be for a few seconds.

However, Nora wanted to get involved in the action.

"That sounds like fun! I want to try!" exclaimed Nora.

Quickly, she pulled out some hand grenades and stuck them in the toilet.

Russel gasped in shock. In the process, he and Dove let go of Jaune.

Quickly, he ran out of the restroom. It looked like he had gotten a break from bullying today.

"Nora, I don't think this is a good idea!" bellowed Russel, shaking his hands back and forth.

"But it's fun!" exclaimed Nora.

Immediately, Nora began to flush the toilet, causing Dove and Sky to gasp in shock.

Sure enough, the grenades exploded, and the toilet splattered sewage everywhere.

Fortunately for Nora, most of the sewage missed her completely, even if it did end up painting the walls.

Unfortunately for Russel and his friends...the same could not be said about them. They were completely covered with it.

"Aaugh!" exclaimed Russel.

"This is nasty!" screamed Dove.

"Why?!" bellowed Sky.

Immediately, they ran out of the restroom so that they could hit the showers.

Shrugging, she decided to leave the restroom as well.

Ren entered the restroom a few minutes later.

Quickly, he noticed the sewage.

"I'll go get the mop." stated Ren.

A few hours later, Dove and Sky had decided to grab another victim...by the ears. Incidentally, it was right after lunch. They had noted that Nora ate a lot of pancakes when she went to sit by them.

This time, it was Velvet.

"Why do I suffer from such racism?" screamed Velvet.

"Heh heh heh..." chuckled Dove.

But unbeknownst to Sky and Dove, someone was already there.

As it turned out, it was Nora.

"I sure love the smell of pancakes..." answered Nora. The dumpster just so happened to smell like pancakes today. She rather enjoyed the smell.

"Hey, Nora!" exclaimed Sky.

"Oh, hey there...I'm smelling the dumpster. It smells like pancakes today..." stated Nora.

"Could you move out of the way so that we can toss this Faunus in the dumpster?" asked Dove.

Velvet sighed. This was the second time this month.

"Just a minute...I want to keep smelling the pancakes..." answered the girl.

Curious, Dove and Sky decided to see if the dumpster did in fact smell like pancakes.

However, in the process, they let go of Velvet.

She decided to seize her opportunity.

"This is for humiliating me ever since my second year at Beacon Academy!" bellowed Velvet.

Immediately, she pushed Dove and Sky in the dumpster, causing them to gasp.

She then locked the dumpster afterward. They were going to be in there for a while.

"Let us out!" screamed Dove.

"I'm covered in trash!" bellowed Sky.

Velvet then gave Nora a high five.

Nora was unsure why she did it...but she appreciated the gesture.

Half an hour later, Russel showed up. He wanted to see if Dove and Sky had succeeded in tossing Velvet in the dumpster.

He was rather surprised to see that Dove and Sky had ended up in the dumpster instead.

"What happened?" asked Russel as he unlocked the dumpster.

"Velvet pushed us in!" bellowed Dove.

"Oh dear..." remarked the bully. It looked like Velvet had decided to fight back. Of course, she was a second-year and they were only first-years...so perhaps it was only a matter of time.

Once again, he was unaware of Nora's part in it.

"How should we get back at her?" asked Dove. He was itching for revenge...even though technically it was a punishment that he deserved. He just wouldn't own up to what he did.

"Maybe we could take her stuffed bunny rabbit?" inquired Sky.

"Not a bad idea..." nodded Russel.

As soon as Velvet left her room (and her teammates were gone as well), they decided to break in.

Sure enough, there was her stuffed bunny rabbit, lying on her bed. Apparently she liked to sleep with it like a teddy bear.

Immediately, Russel snatched it. Now all he needed to do was wait for Velvet to come looking for it.

Apparently, there were off on a mission to try expanding territory so that more people could move in. Naturally, the Grimm were not looking forward to that.

But with four second-years fighting against them, there wasn't much that they could do. It looked like they were going to have to simply fall back.

Since Velvet was gone, Russel, Dove, and Sky were going to have to play the waiting game.

Sure enough, they began to wait outside Team CFVY's door. Hopefully Velvet would return soon.

Of course, she was a rabbit Faunus so they doubted that she would be gone for long. She could run for miles.

Eventually, Velvet did return, and noticed what was going on.

"Hey! That's Mr. Whiskers!" bellowed Velvet.

"If you want him back, you're going to have to catch him!" exclaimed Russel.

Shortly afterwards, they began to play a game of monkey in the middle with Velvet, passing Mr. Whiskers to another bully whenever she got close to one.

Velvet noted that this was getting rather annoying really fast.

However, at that very moment, Nora showed up. She was currently eating a banana.

Quickly, she noticed Russel and his friends.

"Hey there! What are you doing?" asked Nora, still munching on the banana.

"We're playing monkey in the middle...you can probably guess whose the monkey." answered Russel.

Velvet sighed. And to think that she had just gotten back from a mission too.

"If she's a monkey, why not give her a banana?" questioned Nora.

Immediately, Nora handed the banana she was eating to Velvet.

Since she had just gotten back from a mission, Velvet was feeling rather hungry, and she happily began to eat the banana.

Quickly, she managed to finish it.

Afterwards, she decided to throw out the banana peel...however, she then realized that she had an opportunity once again.

Immediately, she placed the banana peel right next to Russel's feet. Maybe this would work.

Fortunately, Russel did not notice.

As such, when Dove tossed Mr. Wihskers to Russel, he ended up tripping over the banana peel and falling on his back.

This gave Velvet the opportunity to grab Mr. Whiskers and head back into her room.

She then locked the door so that Team NRDS could not get in.

"Darn it!" bellowed Russel. Their schemes had not been going well at all lately.

Perhaps they were choosing the wrong target. What if they tried pulling pranks on a teacher?

Speaking of which, they were going to be having a class with Doctor Oobleck soon. That seemed like a good opportunity as any.

As such, they decided to get ready for their plan.

As they did so, Nora began to follow them.

Quickly, they went to a manhole and began to climb down a ladder.

They then pulled out a cup and began to fill it with sewer water.

"What are you doing?" asked Nora.

"Oh, we're going to pull a prank on our history teacher." answered Russel.

"You mean the guy with the green hair that loves caffeine?" inquired the teenage girl. He really reminded her of herself.

"That's the one." nodded Sky.

It wouldn't be long before class started now...so they decided to head to the classroom before Dr. Oobleck did.

Quickly, they replaced the cup of coffee that he had left on his desk and switched it with a cup of the sewer water.

"He'll never notice the difference..." remarked Russel. It sure was going to be an unpleasant surprise, that was for certain.

"What should we do with the coffee?" asked Nora.

"Huh?" inquired the ringleader of the bullies.

Curious, he looked behind him.

As it turned out, Nora had followed them.

"You can have it, I guess. Pour it in the sink, why don't you?" asked Russel.

Nora nodded.

However, as she went to the ladies' restroom, she wondered what Dr. Oobleck's coffee tasted like. Considering that he drank it all the time, she started to wonder if it tasted rather good.

Maybe a few sips wouldn't hurt...

 _About fifteen minutes later..._

Russel, Dove, and Sky sat in class, snickering to themselves all the while. This was going to be very funny indeed.

Team PWBR entered shortly afterwards. They wondered why Team NRDS were giggling.

They started to wonder if they were up to no good.

Of course, they wouldn't put it past them. They had been causing trouble ever since they got to Beacon Academy.

Team RAYC showed up shortly afterward. Cardin wondered what his teammates were up to.

"I heard that Dr. Oobleck is a rather wild teacher. He's even faster than I am!" exclaimed Ruby.

"That's quite impressive." agreed Yang.

"His class had better not be boring." noted Cardin.

"I don't think it will." nodded Jaune. Of course, he was under the impression that he wasn't going to do well at Beacon Academy considering how well he did during the initiation exam. Thank goodness Ruby was there to help him.

Sure enough, Dr. Oobleck showed up.

"Good morning, class. I hope that you're having a good d-"

Suddenly, Nora showed up. She was laughing hysterically.

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Nora.

Curious, Russel noticed that Nora was being even more energetic...than usual.

"What's so funny, Miss Valkyrie?" asked Dr. Oobleck.

Suddenly, Nora began to bounce off the walls. Literally.

"Miss Valkyrie, what are you doing?" inquired the green-haired teacher.

"Whee!" squealed the hammer wielder.

For some strange reason, Russel got the feeling that Nora had ingested the coffee that he had given her earlier. Perhaps this wasn't such a well-thought plan.

Suddenly, Nora crashed into Dr. Oobleck's desk, tipping over the sewer water in the process.

"My coffee!" bellowed Dr. Oobleck. What would he ever do without it?

Immediately, he went over to where his cup of coffee was.

However, he quickly realized that it wasn't coffee at all.

"Wait a minute...this isn't my coffee...this is sewer water!" exclaimed the history teacher. Since when did he drink water out of the sewer? It didn't seem too sanitary.

Curious, he wondered what could have happened to his coffee.

"Miss Valkyrie, did you drink my coffee?" asked the man.

"I sure did! It tasted delightful!" bellowed Nora.

"That explains a lot." remarked Ren.

"You drank my coffee? Why'd you do it?" inquired the doctor.

"Russel gave it to me! He's a good friend of mine!" bellowed Nora.

"Mr. Thrush gave it to you? Wait a minute..." answered Dr. Oobleck.

At that very moment, he realized what had happened.

"Mr. Thrush, you and your friends switched my coffee with sewer water hoping that I would drink it, didn't you?" asked the green-haired man.

Russel began to chuckle nervously.

"Mr. Thrush, Mr. Bronzewing, and Mr. Lark, you all have detention after class!" bellowed Dr. Oobleck.

Russel groaned. It looked like trying to prank the teacher hadn't gone any better than pranking the students.

If only they hadn't given Nora the coffee.

"I should have seen this coming." remarked Weiss.

"They certainly are getting what they deserve as of late." noted Blake. It looked like karma was finally catching up to them.

Still, she wondered why exactly their schemes were falling apart.

Well, she decided not to dwell on it. This was gold!

Sure enough, Russel was starting to cry. Why was this happening to him?

Oddly enough, during the commotion, Jaune managed to ace the test that Dr. Oobleck had given them. Maybe he worked best while he was feeling positive. He had gotten a 97%.

Even though Ruby had slept through much of the class, she got an 83%.

It looked like things had worked out for them. The same could not be said for Team NRDS.

 _After class..._

"Alright then. Since you switched my coffee with sewer water, I figured it would be appropriate for you to clear out Grimm from the sewers..." answered Dr. Oobleck.

"There are Grimm living down there?" asked Russel.

"Not very many...but there are still Grimm nonetheless. I sure would hate it if they sabotaged our plumbing..." remarked the green-haired scientist.

"Yeah..." nodded the teenage boy. He was with him there.

Suddenly, Nora showed up.

"Miss Valkyrie? You don't have detention!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck.

"I know! I just figured it would be fun to explore the sewers!" bellowed Nora.

"Well, I suppose that you enjoy working with your teammates...I guess you can come along." stated the man.

"Yes!" cheered the girl.

"Now climb down the sewers and look for Grimm...you have thirty minutes to kill as many Grimm as you can..." answered Dr. Oobleck.

Dove sighed. Despite Nora's enthusiasm, he doubted that entering the sewers was going to be fun.

On the plus side, he and his friends did enjoy killing Grimm.

Reluctantly (except for Nora), Team NRDS entered the sewers.

 _I hope that you found this chapter to be amusing like the other previous chapters. In other news, I heard that there's a Grimm Dragon on the loose. Oh dear. And yes, I decided to dedicate a chapter to Team NRDS. How about that._

 _In the next chapter, Team NRDS are going to clean out the sewers of Grimm as their detention. And yes, there are Grimm living down there...though they don't really attack humans, oddly enough. They mostly keep to themselves and feed off of what's going on below them...such as the male members of the Team NRDS's bullying._

 _Of course, technically Nora didn't get into trouble...but she likes the idea of exploring the sewers. Heh heh._


	10. Chapter 10: Down in The Sewers

In _this chapter, Team NRDS are going to enter the sewers. Sure enough, they're going to be fighting some Grimm down there. Nothing too dangerous...although we're going to be featuring a few new Grimm types or two._

 _Meanwhile, Yang and Cardin are going out to kill some Grimm of their own...including Boarbatusk. Why not feature them? I figured I would feature more than Team NRDS this time. I'm also going to feature Team PWBR since they could use some screen time too._

 **Chapter 10: Down In The Sewers**

Russel, Dove, and Sky ventured into the sewers along with Nora. They had thirty minutes to hunt down as many Grimm as they could so that people could safely flush the toilet without a Grimm taking a bite out of their butts.

To think that this was all because Nora decided to drink Dr. Oobleck's coffee. Apparently giving Nora caffeine wasn't such a good idea. She was as energetic as it was.

They found it to be rather frightening, to say the very least. Of course, Professor Oobleck said that the Grimm shouldn't be dangerous to them if they worked together...so they should be fine.

On the other hand, they were prone to running when the situation got tough...but he probably wouldn't put up with that. He really expected more from them than to pull childish pranks, especially on the people that were teaching them.

Of course, it seemed doubtful that Nora would run from danger. Perhaps this was why she was the leader of the team.

That, and she was the strongest of the lot of them. How else would they have taken down that ferocious Death Stalker?

Curious, they wondered what kinds of Grimm would be inside the sewers. Would it be Grimm that they had seen in the Emerald Forest...or would it be different species of Grimm entirely?

They were about to find out.

Aside from a few Rattlers, there were also a few Myotises...Grimms that resembled bats. Usually they came out during the nighttime right outside of Vale...though they would attack during the day if there was enough fear and sadness to go around. Unsurprisingly, they were capable of flight.

They had a tendency to drain the blood from their victims...elder Myotises could drink more blood and could fly for longer distances, since they had bigger wings and were larger.

Now that Russel thought of it...they had a few similarities to Nevermores...however, they traded durability for speed. It seemed unlikely that they could endure attacks from their weapons, especially if they all attacked together.

Fortunately, younger Myotises had a tendency to sleep upside down on the ceiling, so it wouldn't be too difficult to get the jump on them. However, the older Myotises would likely be able to find them first, as they had echolocation. As you can well imagine, this allowed them to launch sneak attacks instead.

Quickly, Russel tossed some daggers at the Myotises.

This worked rather well, with most of them dying.

However, one of the Myotises woke up and started sucking the blood out of Russel's arm.

"Ow!" bellowed Russel, trying to shake it off.

Not only that, but some of the Rattlers were starting to approach.

Fortunately, Nora whacked the last Myotis with her hammer, causing it to fall to the ground and disappear into darkness.

"Thanks..." answered the second-in-command of Team NRDS.

Meanwhile, Dove and Sky were killing the Rattlers that dared approach them. Where were mousetraps when they needed them? Of course, maybe they didn't need mousetraps.

Swinging his sword, Dove lopped off a Rattler's head.

Sky followed by slicing a Rattler in half with his halberd.

Dove and Sky kept at it, thinning the herd.

However, since they were younger Rattlers, they did not slow down the assault. They could avoid a lot of casualties if they simply learned to retreat and learn from their battles with humanity.

"They don't give up, do they?" questioned Russel.

Of course, neither did Nora.

Immediately, she squashed many Rattlers with her hammer.

Finally, the Rattlers decided to retreat. They ultimately realized that they were outmatched. Of course, if they were older, they would have realized that they were outmatched sooner.

"How much longer do we have?" asked Dove.

"We've got about fifteen minutes left..." answered Russel. Either that, or his watch had broken.

Sky and Dove groaned. Just how long was this detention session going to be?

Of course, this wasn't the first time that they had gotten detention...

 _Meanwhile..._

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Cardin as Yang walked outside Beacon Academy.

"I'm going to kill some Grimm...the less Grimm there are in the world, the better, right?" inquired Yang. That way people could sleep soundly at night instead of worrying about being brutally slaughtered.

"Right, of course." nodded the bully. Of course, if the going got tough, it was rather likely that he would bail...though maybe not on Yang.

Curious, Yang pulled out her map to see if there was anywhere in Vale that would be good for Grimm hunting.

Of course, they didn't want to go too far from Vale...the further they went from civilization, the stronger the Grimm became. Hunters and huntresses had to keep that in mind when increasing city territory.

As such, they decided to go somewhere that was rather easy...the outskirts of Vale. Not exactly a very dangerous place...even for first-year hunters and huntresses such as themselves.

Fortunately, the Grimm there weren't very dangerous at all...though there did seem to be a Boarbatusk prowling around. Apparently, they would have a harder time hurting it unless they focused on its belly.

Boarbatusks had a rather good sense of smell, so perhaps stealth would not be one of their advantages. Unless of course, they managed to douse their scent somehow.

Unfortunately, Cardin was doing just that...attacking the Boarbatusk's armored face.

"You do realize that the Boarbatusk's face is armored...right?" asked Yang. Something told her that attacking its face wasn't the most efficient method of attacking.

"Grr..." murmured Cardin. Was Yang trying to boast about how she was better than him?

"Try hitting its belly!" suggested the blonde. Apparently there was a reason why Yang was ranked higher than Cardin was on her team.

Immediately, Yang picked up the Boarbatusk and tipped it over on its back, exposing its weak point.

"Yeah, right. What will that do?" questioned Cardin. Nonetheless, he decided to play along.

However, as it turned out, that did prove to be rather effective. The Boarbatusk evaporated into darkness instantly. Of course, it also helped that it was fairly young...though it seemed stronger than most of the Grimm in the area. Maybe it had gotten lost?

Speaking of which, there appeared to be Beowulves in the area as well. Currently, they were sniffing for humans...though admittedly there weren't many humans in the area.

Sure enough, they found Yang, and they began to roar. Clearly they wanted some victims.

Shortly afterwards, they began to run towards her. They were looking forward to biting into her flesh. Maybe it tasted like chicken.

However, she simply punched them and then they knew no more.

Yang wondered if they should try looking for more of a challenge. She got the feeling that she could take on a hundred Grimm in one sitting. And if they managed to take down a large Grimm, it would probably save a lot of lives.

There was also the simple matter that Cardin was with her.

What were Grimm attracted to again?

 _Meanwhile in the sewers..._

"You know, I'm starting to wish for more of a challenge..." answered Russel. So far the Grimm that they had been killing had been rather easy to slay. When were they going to get to kill more powerful Grimm?

"Yeah, me too..." nodded Dove.

"How do we attract more Grimm?" asked Sky. He seemed to recall Professor Port saying something about that. Of course, he had slept during roughly half of that class.

Suddenly, Dove pulled Russel's pants down, causing him to be embarrassed.

"My pants!" bellowed Russel as he pulled his pants back up.

Nora found it to be rather...intriguing to see Russel in his underwear.

Sure enough, more Grimm showed up, drawn to Russel's embarrassment. Now they could start having fun again. Maybe this detention session wasn't so bad.

However, they encountered a new Grimm species this time. Perhaps they should be a bit more careful of what they wished for.

In this case, they were known as Specters...as their name implied, they somewhat resembled ghosts...and they were rather scary.

This worked in their favor...since fear was one of the things that attracted more Grimm...and what they feasted on, of course. Being a phobovore had its perks.

"Ooooohhhh!" bellowed one of the Specters, raising its hands in the air.

Fortunately, since they were rather young, these Specters were more adorable than they were scary.

Unfortunately, since Russel, Dove, and Sky were cowards, it didn't take much to scare them and make them flee.

"Mother!" screamed Dove.

Sure enough, they were starting to retreat. So what if they had detention? They wanted to live.

Curious, Nora wondered where they were going. It was 10 minutes before their detention was up. The teacher probably wouldn't be happy with them for bailing out on it.

It looked like she was going to have to fight the Specters by herself.

Oddly enough, when she hit them with a hammer, they burst into ectoplasm. They were not as tough as they were scary.

Nora noted that they had the ability to go through walls when they decided to retreat...she could simply smash the walls and pursue them...but that would probably result in plumbing problems later.

Besides, she was starting to feel a bit worried about her teammates.

Sure enough, they were about to run into big trouble pretty soon.

As they made their way back to the sewer ladder, they suddenly began to hear bubbling coming from the sewer water.

"What's going on?" questioned Russel. For some strange reason he got the feeling that it was something huge.

Sure enough, it was huge. It was about the size of the Death Stalker that they had encountered in the Emerald Forest.

As it turned out, it was yet another Grimm who wanted to kill them rather violently.. Apparently, it had noticed their fear and had decided to follow them. And unfortunately, they had not noticed it up until now. It was rather good at hiding in the sewer water and waiting for victims.

In this case, it was a crocodile Grimm known by the name of Chomper...as you can well imagine, they were not the friendliest bunch. And judging from the fact that it had blood on its teeth, it had probably attacked humans before...or maybe Faunus.

To make matters worse, their black scales were just like armor...and they had strong jaws.

Not to mention that this particular Chomper was not a young one. It was...middle-aged.

Russel wondered how the heck a crocodile would survive in the sewers.

However, he decided not to question that right now,. He wasn't looking forward to the reptilian Grim killing them. He did not want to die.

Immediately, he and his friends began to attack the Chomper, causing it to roar.

It retaliated by knocking them backward with its tail.

Unfortunately for Russel, he ended up falling on his back, leaving him vulnerable.

Seizing its opportunity, the Chomper began to approach him.

It was looking forward to biting into Russel...and of course killing him. Maybe his blood would spill all over the sewer. What a lovely thought.

However, at that very moment, Nora showed up.

"Stop hurting my friends!" bellowed Nora.

Immediately, she started whacking the Chomper with her hammer, causing it to roar in pain.

Apparently, Nora had managed to wound it, because it was bleeding black blood that was spreading throughout the sewer water. Hopefully it wouldn't show up in anyone's toilet.

This gave Russel the opportunity to stab the Chomper in the tail, causing it to roar once again.

Fortunately, now that Sky and Dove weren't fearing for their lives so much anymore, no other Grimm were showing up...in other words, this was one against four.

Immediately, they began to attack the Chomper as well.

Eventually, the Chomper dissolved into darkness.

"Yes! We did it!" exclaimed Nora.

It looked like Team RDS's detention was over.

Immediately, they began to climb back up the ladder.

"So...did you find any Grimm?" inquired Dr. Oobleck. Currently, he was sitting on a chair drinking coffee.

"Yes, we did..." nodded Russel. One of them nearly took a big bite out of him too.

"I killed a Chomper!" cheered Nora.

"I didn't know that there were crocodile Grimm in the sewers..." questioned Dr. Oobleck. At least one of them was dead now and wouldn't hurt anyone else. He wondered if there were others though. Sometimes the Grimm came in groups, sometimes not.

"We could have died!" screamed Dove.

"Well, your detention is over, so you can head back to Beacon Academy..." answered the teacher. They would probably be glad to be back after fighting so many dangerous Grimm.

Dove, Sky, and Russel sighed in relief. Their detention had been rather eventful. But at least they had managed to make it out of the sewers alive.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I wonder where Yang and Cardin are..." answered Ruby. She was under the impression that she would find them in their room...but it looked like they had left and had taken their weapons with them.

"I think they said that they were going to hunt Grimm..." stated Jaune. Personally he wondered what it would be like if all the Grimm ended up going extinct. No doubt there would be a lot less casualties.

"Oh, right..." said the brunette. Hopefully they would be alright. They said they would be staying close to town so that they didn't end up running into too much trouble.

Personally they wondered if they should do training like that themselves. How many Grimm were there in the world, anyway? They certainly seemed to be the dominant species on the planet...unfortunately.

"You think we should go look for them?" questioned the scythe wielder.

"They'll probably be back soon..." answered the blonde.

"True..." nodded Ruby. Yang didn't like to keep her younger sister waiting.

Curious, she decided to look outside to see if there was anyone approaching.

However, she didn't see her sister anywhere.

"Hmm..." thought the brunette.

 _In Team NRDS's room._

"You know, I'm starting to see why Nora is our leader..." answered Russel. Without her they probably would have been dead a long time ago. Where else were they going to get someone that strong?

"Did you see her take on that Chomper?" asked Dove. He wasn't even aware that there were crocodile grimm in the world...up until a few days ago.

"Too bad we can't bully anyone with her around anymore..." noted Sky. What were they going to do for fun now? For some strange reason she always managed to foil their schemes...and it wasn't even intentional on her part.

Personally they wondered what it would be like if Cardin was still their leader. He was the bully king, it seemed. But alas, he was on a different team now.

They were just going to have to live with it.

At that very moment, Nora entered the room, a wide smile on her face.

"Hey there, Nora!" exclaimed Russel.

"Hi, Russel!" cheered Nora as she went to her mattress.

Already, she was bouncing on her bed. She was rather happy that their mission was a success.

Russel was a bit worried that she was going to end up hitting her head on the ceiling.

Sure enough, one of the pillows had fallen off of it.

"Hey, Nora! One of the pillows fell off your mattress!" exclaimed Russel.

"Oh, really?" questioned Nora.

Immediately, she stopped bouncing off her bed.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

"Pillow fight!" exclaimed the leader of Team NRDS.

Out of the blue, she whacked Russel in the face with a pillow.

Shrugging, Russel decided to pitch in.

Immediately, she whacked Nora with the pillow, causing her to laugh.

Russel was under the impression that he would be doing something more masculine...but now that he thought of it, this WAS safer than a fistfight. He probably wouldn't have to worry about showing up to class with fresh bruises later. Sometimes the teachers worried about him.

Quickly, he whacked Dove with the pillow.

Naturally, Dove and Sky decided to pitch in as well.

Eventually, they were all tuckered out...except for Nora.

It looks like she was the winner.

"Yay! I won!" exclaimed Nora.

Once again, she had proved herself to be a competent leader, despite the fact that she acted younger than most of her teammates. It was rather ironic.

Personally, she was wondering what Ren was doing.

 _Meanwhile..._

As it turned out, Team PWBR had been sent to the outskirts of town where Yang and Cardin were. Hopefully they could make it so that a few more people could live in Vale. It was always nice to expand.

Fortunately, as long as they stayed close to Vale, the Grimm wouldn't object to the humans expanding their territory too much. They were aware that the Grimm in the outskirts of Vale weren't so hostile or dangerous, though they would attack if they got too close.

Suddenly, they noticed Yang and Cardin, who appeared to be in thought.

"Can we help you?" asked Pyrrha.

Cardin then had an idea. Didn't Grimm show up when people got angry?

Immediately, he messed up Yang's hair.

"My hair!" bellowed Yang.

Ren decided to warn him.

"You do realize that messing with Yang's hair makes her REALLY angry, right?" questioned Ren.

Cardin started to wonder if they had bitten off more than they could chew.

Sure enough, several Grimm showed up. A few of them were an Ursa mother and her cubs...if the cubs went down, she would get SUPER angry.

Another was a Golem...who looked like it was made out of stone despite being black with red eyes.

Yet another was a swarm of Hornets...a group of Grimm that looked just like...well, Hornets. They were being led by their queen...which of course was a Hornet Queen.

Unfortunately, the Hornet Queen was laying black eggs...which hatched into even more hornets. They might end up with an army on their hands pretty soon...though there was probably a finite amount of eggs that the queen could produce before having to rest.

Immediately, the Hornets began to swarm the six.

"I hope you're going to be more careful next time, Cardin..." answered Pyrrha.

"Why do I have to listen to you? You're a girl!" exclaimed Cardin.

"I'm a girl and YOU listen to me..." pointed out Yang.

"Sometimes I forget that..." remarked the bully.

Yang sweatdropped. Should she try being more girly? Her sister did seem to be more feminine than her now that she thought of it.

Shrugging, she decided to take down the cubs, since they seemed to be the easier target.

Fortunately, they were not hard to deal with at all. In only a few punches, they burst into darkness.

However, this made the Ursa Mother furious...and she had rather sharp claws.

Immediately, she clawed Yang in the face.

"Ow!" bellowed Yang.

For some strange reason, this made Cardin rather angry. He wasn't quite sure why.

Quickly, he began whacking the Ursa Mother with his mace.

Immediately, she began to roar.

This gave the opportunity for Yang to snap the mother's neck, killing it and causing it to dissolve into darkness as well.

"I learned this from battling with Tifa Lockhart." remarked Yang.

Meanwhile, Pyrrha and Ren were trying to take down the Hornet Queen...where was a can of insect repellent when they needed it?

Fortunately, Ren was able to swat the Hornets like they were...flies.

However, the Hornet Queen was getting rather aggravated. Much like the Ursa Mother, she wasn't too happy about the death of her offspring.

Eventually, she lunged towards Ren, hoping to stab him with her stinger. Much like the Death Stalker's tail stinger, it was rather poisonous. Ren did not want it in his bloodstream, that was for certain.

Fortunately, Pyrrha realized what was happening, and she decided to take action.

Quickly, she used her shield to block the Hornet Queen's stinger.

She then stabbed the Hornet Queen, killing it.

Oddly enough, it caused its offspring to disappear as well. It was rather weird...but rather convenient.

Now all that was left was the Golem.

As it turned out, Weiss and Blake were fighting it.

Sure enough, the Golem was tossing rocks at them. Apparently, it was hoping to make huntress pancakes...which Nora would probably enjoy if she was there.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the Golem had rather high defenses. The Gambol Shroud was scratching the Golem...but it wasn't showing any signs of slowing down the assault.

Deciding to try beating the Golem at its own game, Blake put a Earth Dust cartridge in her retractable scythe.

Sure enough, she began to turn to stone.

This seemed to be rather effective...however, she got the feeling that she was going to need more firepower to take down the Golem.

Suddenly, she bumped into Weiss.

"Watch where you're going! I already warned Ruby that I'm carrying explosive chemicals!" warned Weiss.

"Maybe you could toss them at the Golem..." suggested Blake.

"That's...actually not a bad idea..." answered the white-haired girl.

Immediately, she began to toss the explosive chemicals at the Golem.

More and more cracks began to appear...until, eventually, the Golem collapsed into a pile of rock.

"Is that the last of them?" asked Weiss.

"I think so." nodded Pyrrha. It looked like a job well done.

Cardin decided that he had enough Grimm hunting for one day, and decided to head back to his room along with Yang. Maybe he would get an opportunity to bully Jaune.

Yang decided to follow suit.

"I hope that my sister is proud of me...of course, my sister is always proud of me..." noted the blonde.

 _I hope that you liked this chapter...and yes, I decided to feature a crocodile Grimm. Since it's a predator, I figured why not._

 _You probably weren't expecting Team NRDS to get into a pillow fight, huh? I like throwing surprises every now and then._


	11. Chapter 11: Grimm Studies

_In this chapter, there's going to be a Grimm studies session...of course, our protagonists have already encountered many types of Grimm...most recently a Golem and the Hornet Queen. Of course, there are worse Grimm yet...but our protagonists aren't going to encounter them yet. They'd get horribly slaughtered!_

 _They are going to encounter a Minotaur though. You mess with the bull, you get the horns! Since Minotaurs are always in a dungeon of some sort, it's deep inside the Emerald Forest._

 **Chapter 11: Grimm Studies**

Once again, it was time to visit Professor Port. He was going to teach them about species of Grimm. No doubt that there were more Grimm species that were yet to be discovered.

And yet, judging from the syllabus, Yang and Cardin had already encountered them before along with Team PWBR. It was starting to feel like they were a bit ahead of their class.

Personally they wondered what kind of Grimm that Team CFVY had encountered. Likely they had encountered more powerful species of Grimm than what they had encountered previously. Maybe if they survived their first year, they could try going on second-year missions...which would undoubtedly be much more perilous than first-year ones.

"Good morning, class. Today I will be teaching you about some species of Grimm..." explained Professor Port. Naturally, they would be going over more species of Grimm as the class continued. Generally, they would start with weaker ones and continue on to stronger ones...usually when the students were ready to handle them.

As such, they probably wouldn't be giving them information about Goliaths for a while. Those Grimm were very powerful...and rather smart, too. Fortunately, they mostly kept to themselves...however, they would show up if a Grimm invasion got bad enough.

Sure enough, pictures of several different types of Grimm were onscreen.

"The Myotises tend to live in caverns or in other dark places...they will wake up and attack any hunters that disturb their territory..." stated the professor.

"I already know that..." said Russel. He had already encountered them during detention.

"The Golem is a larger Grimm that hurls boulders at its enemies." continued Port. If the hunters weren't careful, they could end up being squashed flat.

"We already encountered them." pointed out Weiss. It was rather fortunate as there were one of them as they appeared to be rather strong.

Professor Port decided to show the Bagheerah next.

However, Ruby and Jaune quickly pointed out that they had already encountered it in the forest.

Curious, he decided to see if there were any Grimm that they hadn't encountered yet.

Eventually, he stopped on one...it was called the Minotaur. This particular Grimm somewhat resembled a Boarbatusk...however, it stood upright instead of walking on all four legs. Apparently, it was more intelligent than that particular species of Grimm.

Of course, with more intelligence came stronger Grimm. They might want to bring their whole team if they wanted to take that down.

"I don't think that we've seen that one yet..." remarked Ruby.

"For your lesson why don't you try hunting one down?" asked Port.

"Do you know where we can find one?" asked Jaune.

"As a matter of fact, I do." nodded the Grimm studier. Grimm could be found in a variety of places. They had a tendency to adapt to their environments...and to fighting humans.

As it turned out, there was one deep in Emerald Forest...past where they went when they took their beginning exam. Perhaps the deeper they were into the forest, the more dangerous the Grimm became...fortunately, the forest wasn't that deep.

"Any volunteers?" questioned Professor Port.

Ruby raised her hand...though Jaune was unsure that they could take on that particular Grimm.

"Very good. Come meet me at the Emerald Forest. As for the rest of you, you had better stay on your best behavior while I'm gone." answered the professor.

Russel was tempted for a moment to go against Professor Port's orders and go pull a prank on him...but what if he got a detention again? Nora might end up thwarting his efforts like she did earlier.

Immediately, Professor Port left along with Team RAYC. Hopefully their mission was a success. He had a feeling that his students would succeed.

Of course, their attempt to clear out Grimm from the outskirts of Vale had gone rather well, though they had ended up encountering more Grimm that they had expected. People were making new homes as they spoke.

Professor Port was of course following Team RAYC at a close distance to make sure that none of them ended up being killed. Grimm hunting could get rather messy. He had gotten some battle scars before...though they tended to heal rather quickly. His Aura was very powerful.

Team RAYC ventured into the forest. Fortunately, there did not appear to be as many Grimm since they had visited during their exams. Perhaps taking out that Nevermore and that Death Stalker had made the forest a better place.

However, they ended up encountering some Grimm nonetheless. Not all of them were gone.

In this case, it was another Boarbatusk...though this one appeared to be slightly younger than the one that they had encountered in the outskirts.

"Another one?" asked Yang. It looked like there were having bacon tonight.

She cracked her knuckles.

Immediately, Cardin knocked over the Boarbatusk with his mace.

He then hit it in its belly to make it burst into darkness.

Ruby and Jaune applauded Cardin for taking care of it so swiftly.

However, the death of the Boarbatusk attracted the attention of some wandering Ursas.

They began to growl. To them killing humans was like eating sweet honey.

"More of these guys, huh? Alright then..." answered Yang.

Immediately, she began to beat the Ursas to death with her bare hands.

This was rather effective...since she was so darn strong.

"Your porridge is too hot and your porridge is too cold! How do you eat this stuff?" questioned Yang.

Jaune was rather impressed.

Shortly afterwards, they heard the cry of a Nevermore. However, it was much smaller than the one that they had encountered during their initiation exam. Clearly it was a younger Nevermore.

After encountering a Nevermore of that age, the younger Nevermores seemed rather puny by comparision. It was like comparing a chicken to an ostrich.

Sure enough, Ruby turned her scythe into a gun and shot it down. It evaporated into darkness as soon as it hit the ground.

"I wish we would encounter a different type of Grimm in this forest for a change..." answered Cardin. These Grimm all seemed familiar. It was starting to feel like they were stuck in a time loop.

At that very moment, a different type of Grimm showed up. This one resembled a porcupine.

Ruby wondered what kind of Grimm it was.

Curious, Ruby looked into the textbook that Professor Port had given her.

As it turned out, it was known as a Spiker...and they had quills that they could launch on enemies.

Suddenly, some of them got lodged into her arm.

"Ow!" bellowed Ruby. Her arm was bleeding a bit.

In the process, she dropped her book on the floor.

Well, it was time for her to start fighting.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the Spiker knew at some level how to defend itself from hunters that would wish to hunt it down to stop it from spilling the blood from the innocent.

Immediately, it curled up into a spiked ball...and began to roll around to attack its enemies. Apparently, this particular Spiker was rather smart. Perhaps it had aged?

Sure enough, it hit Jaune...right between the legs.

"Aaugh!" screamed Jaune, falling on the ground.

"Oh no, Juane!" bellowed Ruby. Hopefully he was alright. It was a good thing that they had Professor Port with them in case anything happened.

In retaliation, she shot bullets at the Spiker, causing it to become disoriented.

She then swung her scythe and chopped off its head, killing it. Apparently Ruby got rather angry whenever Juane was injured.

"You alright?" asked Ruby as she helped Juane to his feet. Encountering a new Grimm species was always an interesting experience...however, it took time to prepare for future encounters.

"I think so..." nodded Jaune. Perhaps he could have used his shield to protect himself from the quills.

Of course, this was his first time encountering a Spiker. Apparently, there were more species of Grimm living in this forest than they had encountered during the beginner exam.

Personally he wondered what the exams for fourth-years were like. They were probably rather intense.

Eventually, they began to hear the sound of what appeared to be snorting.

They got the feeling what it was.

Sure enough, it was the Minotaur. It was rather frightening, to say the very least. It was about ten feet tall...though it wasn't as large as the Goliaths. It also had rather sharp-looking horns on its head.

To make it even more frightening, it could roar very loudly.

Also, it appeared to be wielding an axe.

"Why is it wielding an axe?" asked Ruby.

"Some of the Grimm like giving their attackers a taste of their own medicine..." explained Professor Port.

The minotaur was currently grinding its axe against the floor.

"You do realize that once we attack it, it'll charge straight towards us, right?" asked Juane.

"Yes...I suggest you get ready to defend..." answered the teacher.

"That's what I would suggest..." nodded Ruby.

"Maybe one of us should taunt it to get its attention?" questioned Yang.

"Leave that to me..." answered Cardin.

"Hey, Minotaur! I made your mother into a hamburger!"

This got the Minotaur's attention. It began to glare at Cardin.

However, instead of attacking them, it decided to send lesser Grimm after them instead. Apparently, it had a position of authority.

"This Grimm isn't stupid, it seems..." noted Ruby.

"Some Grimm choose to command other Grimm to attack their enemies so that they can stay safe and continue leading them in battle..." answered Professor Port. Perhaps it wasn't going to charge at them after all...at least not yet.

"We're probably going to have to do some work so that nothing will separate us from our target..." acknowledged Juane.

"Alright then!" bellowed Yang.

Immediately, Yang began to attack the Grimm that were sent after them.

The Beowulves howled as they charged straight towards the five of them.

Fortunately, Ruby made short work of them.

"I'm going to see my grandmother and there's nothing that you can do about it! And you had better not try dressing up as her, you transvestites!" bellowed Ruby.

However, the Minotaur was worried about Professor Port. He realized that he was the biggest threat.

Maybe he should try to deal with him himself while the rest of the Grimm attacked his students.

Immediately, he began to charge at Professor Port.

However, at that very moment, Jaune tripped.

"Whoa!" bellowed Jaune.

The Minotaur ended up tripping over him and falling to the floor, leaving it vulnerable to attack.

"Very good, Mr. Arc!" cheered Professor Port.

"Um, thank you?" asked Jaune.

While it was struggling to get back up, Yang punched the Minotaur in the face.

It started to bleed black blood.

However, as a side effect, the Minotaur started getting angry...

...and much like Yang, you would not like a Minotaur when they were angry.

"I'm starting to wonder if I picked a bad day to wear my red cape..." acknowledged Ruby. Since when was she a bull fighter?

The Minotaur roared louder, and this time, more Grimm showed up.

Immediately, Nevermores swooped down from the sky and lunged at them.

Cardin swatted them with his mace.

However, two Death Stalkers showed up shortly afterward. It looked like they had noticed what was going on and had decided to pitch in.

"This time there's two of them?" questioned Yang.

Ruby sure hoped that her squad remembered their training.

Fortunately, it appeared that they had.

Jaune slashed a Death Stalker's tail with his sword, cutting it off to avoid being stung.

Likewise, Cardin started smashing the other one with his mace.

"The more we attack the Minotaur, the stronger the Grimm become..." acknowledged Yang. Perhaps it would be a good idea to try to take down this particular Grimm quickly.

"It appears that this is why Professor Port wants us to work as a team..." suggested Ruby.

Yang tossed one of the Death Stalkers into the other as hard as she could, causing them to both burst into darkness.

"Nailed it!" cheered the blonde.

Afterwards, Ruby shot bullets into the Minotaur's face.

It began to clutch its face in pain.

Cardin then went towards it with his mace.

However, it pulled out its axe and blocked it.

As such, Jaune hit it in the back with his sword. Once again, it began to bleed black blood.

It retaliated by charging at Cardin and knocking him down.

This worried Yang. How much of his aura had he lost? Once he lost most of his aura, his life would inevitably be in danger.

Immediately, the Minotaur began to charge towards Yang.

However, she punched it in the kneecap causing it to collapse once again.

Cardin then got up and hit the Minotaur with his mace one more time, causing it to burst into darkness.

"Excellent!" exclaimed Professor Port.

"Looks like we won!" cheered Ruby.

Fortunately, it appeared that with the Minotaur gone no more Grimm were going to attack them. Perhaps they decided to retreat for the time being now that their commander was off the battlefield.

Since Ruby and her friends had done so well at fighting the Minotaur that was plaguing the forest, they all got an A Plus. Cardin found this to be rather surprising considered the highest he ever got was a C before. He really outdid himself this time.

It made him wonder if he should actually start studying for a change rather than pin it off on someone else.

Professor Port returned to the class afterwards, where he found that the entirety of Team NRDS were sleeping in class...with the exception of Nora.

Suddenly, Russel woke up.

"Huh? Are you back?" questioned Russel.

"He sure is!" exclaimed Nora.

"I'll have you know that Team RWBY passed their test with flying colors...as for the rest of you, how about a written assignment?" asked Professor Port. There was still some time before class ended.

Immediately, the professor handed them written assignments about Grimm...such as information about Beowulves and Ursas.

Cardin considered himself lucky that he didn't have to take a written test for a change. He was no good at those.

Russell tried sleeping through his test as he usually did along with his friends...but Nora kept waking them up.

"Wake up!" bellowed Nora.

Russel sighed. He had forgotten how energetic Nora was.

Well, since Nora wasn't going to let them fall asleep in class, he might as well work on the test for a change.

Much to their surprise, they actually got Bs instead of Ds for a change.

Apparently, all they had to do was not fall asleep in class.

He supposed that they had Nora to thank for that. No wonder she was leader.

However, Dove and Sky did not share the same reaction. They believed that Russel should be their leader instead of Nora.

They decided to talk to Professor Port about it.

Likewise, Weiss was wishing that she was the leader of her team as well.

In Cardin's case, he decided to complain to Dr. Oobleck about the team of "losers" he was stuck on.

She decided to talk to Miss Goodwitch about it too.

"Why is Nora our leader?" questioned Dove.

"Yeah! Russel should be in charge!" bellowed Sky.

"About that...you see, Nora happens to be the strongest of you all...and she's also the most courageous. In case you hadn't noticed, she made sure you didn't fall asleep in class like you had several times before..." answered the professor.

"Well, yeah, but-"

"She also thwarts you every time you try to do something naughty!"

"Oh yeah..." answered Dove. That explains a lot.

Dove and Sky walked off. Perhaps Professor Port had a point.

Meanwhile, Weiss was asking why she was second-in-command instead of the leader like she SHOULD be.

However, Ms. Goodwitch had a few words to say.

"I will admit that you're fairly intelligent...but the problem is, you're not willing to collaborate with your teammates. You think that everything should be done your way and you won't listen to other people's opinions. Pyrrha in contrast is willing to do both." answered the teacher.

"Anything else?" questioned Weiss.

"Well, Pyrrha can strategize herself...and she's a better fighter..." noted Ms. Goodwitch.

"I suppose you make a good point..." answered the ice huntress.

"Besides, you're second-in-command, so you shouldn't complain too much..." acknowledged the blonde.

"Right..." nodded Weiss.

Weiss decided to head back to her teammates.

Elsewhere, Cardin was discussing his team with Dr. Oobleck.

"Why am I on a team of losers?" questioned Cardin.

"I think you've been hanging out with the wrong crowd! You should be thanking us!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck.

"What makes you say that?" asked the bully.

 _"Hey, Cardin, want to spy on girls in the shower?" questioned Russel._

 _"I'd love to!" bellowed Cardin._

 _"Hey, Cardin, you want to TP our neighbor's house?" inquired Dove._

 _"Why not?" answered the bully._

 _"Hey, Cardin, you want to throw rotten eggs at the school principal?" questioned Sky._

 _"Do you have to ask?" inquired Cardin._

"I suppose they can be troublemakers..." acknowledged the bully.

"I think hanging out with different people will set you on the right path!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck.

"What about my teammates though? Are they still going to be causing trouble throughout the school?" questioned Cardin. He did admit that it was rather fun to watch...even if the teachers didn't agree.

"Oh, someone else is taking care of that...let's just say that Nora was assigned as their leader for a reason..." noted the doctor.

Now that Cardin thought of it...they did seem to be unable to pull off any of their schemes as of late.

"I'll smell you later..." stated Cardin as he headed back to his room.

 _Meanwhile..._

Though Roman was collecting a lot of dust, he was starting to wonder if he would be able to satisfy his employer's demands. She was asking for more and more dust...and it was getting on his nerves.

And to make matters worse, the police were hunting them down. They even had a mugshot of him. He wasn't sure where they had even got that. He hadn't remembered being arrested before.

Maybe it had happened a long time ago.

Well, he might as well keep stealing. It was what he did best.

He had an idea of who he should rob...incidentally, it was another criminal. It was rather ironic, eh?

But since he had almost as much dust as he did, it seemed like the perfect place to gather more dust.

He decided to pay Junior a visit along with his thugs.

But when he went inside...he found something interesting.

As it turned out, there was an assassin inside the building...and she was after Junior. For some strange reason she was wielding an umbrella.

Oddly enough, she reminded Roman of himself.

"Stop her!" bellowed Junior.

Unfortunately for him, despite his wishes, they were unable to get close to the assassin before they were cut down.

"Who are you?" questioned one of the thugs.

The assassin pulled out a piece of paper saying her name on it.

It was "Neo."

"Oh god...not her!" screamed the thug. She was one of the most feared assassins in Vale...and one of the most dangerous.

Neo simply smirked as she continue cutting down more of the thugs.

Since Roman's henchmen were worried that they could be next, they decided to flee...even though Roman was not her current target.

"Great...give me another reason to hate the Faunus..." remarked Roman.

At that very moment, one of the thugs noticed Roman.

He grabbed him and held a knife to his neck.

"What gives?" asked Roman.

"Put the umbrella down or this man gets it!" bellowed the man.

Neo rolled her eyes. She hated it whenever that happened during one of her hits. Believe it or not, she wasn't too fond of collateral damage.

"Do I look like a damsel in distress to you?" questioned Roman.

Neo wondered what she should do. Maybe she could wait for him to loosen his grip and strike then.

Alternatively, she could try tossing something at him. Maybe that would work.

However, as it turned out, she didn't have to lift a finger.

As it turned out, Roman wasn't too happy about being taken hostage.

And he knew exactly what to do.

Unfortunately for the thug that had grabbed him, he wasn't aware that he was carrying a weapon.

Of course, who would expect a cane to be a weapon?

Immediately, he used it to send the thug flying with an explosion.

"What should I do for the rest of you? I know! Why don't I get back for you trying to use me as a meat shield?" questioned Roman.

Pulling out his cane, he began to shoot explosive rounds at the thugs.

They were being toppled by dominoes.

Neo sat in a chair and drank a martini. It looked like she wasn't going to have to lift a finger anymore.

When he was done, Roman threatened Junior with said cane.

"Give me all your Dust!" bellowed Roman.

"Yes, of course!" exclaimed Junior.

Reluctantly, Junior handed Roman all the dust that he had...which was sorted in a suitcase.

"You do realize that carrying all of it in a suitcase is extremely dangerous, right?" questioned Roman.

Neo started to wonder if she even needed to kill Junior for her client.

Junior sighed.

Nonetheless, Roman took it...and put it in a suitcase that was designed specifically to withstand explosive material.

"There we go..." stated Roman.

As he began to walk away, Neo ran him through with her umbrella/sword.

"I shouldn't have insulted that man's mother..." remarked Junior as he drew his final breath. Who would have thought that he would hire an assassin?

Neo shook her head.

Suddenly, she noticed Roman leaving the building.

She decided to follow him.

Roman quickly noticed.

"Huh? What do you want?" questioned Roman.

Neo decided to explain through another one of her notes.

"So let me get this straight...you're impressed with my fighting prowess and that most of the crime lords you've seen before me don't pick their own fights? What a surprise." remarked Roman.

Neo gave Roman another note.

"You want to work with me? Aren't you already working with another man?" questioned the man with a bowler hat.

Neo handed Roman yet another note.

"You've already been paid? And it was only a one-time thing? Fair enough...welcome onboard! Hopefully you'll be more competent than my stupid White Fang thugs..." answered Roman.

Neo nodded. They turned out to be sissy little cowards.

Together, they walked out of Junior's bar.

 _Oh dear...Junior's dead...you probably remember him from the Yellow trailer. Well, he's dead now. And I decided to explain how Roman met Neo in the first place...she kind of showed up out of nowhere, didn't she?_

 _In the next chapter, our protagonists will be heading to Forever Fall..._


	12. Chapter 12: Jaune's Transcript

_In this chapter, the first-years are going to get ready for the Forever Fall test. You're probably familiar with it. Meanwhile, Ruby is going to read Juane's transcript...and she's going to realize that he's a faker. Of course, Pyrrha was the one who figured that out...but not in this fanfic._

 _Are you excited?_

 **Chapter 12: Juane's Transcript**

Ruby decided to check the syllabus. She wondered what the next test would be. For some strange reason she got the feeling that it was going to be in another forest. Life was repetitive, wasn't it? Of course, she could have said that about her old school...though her new school was proving to be more interesting. Perhaps it was a good thing that she was sent to Beacon Academy early, even if she was two years younger than all the other first-years.

Yesterday all they had to do was do some paperwork. It had been like that for a while. Maybe if she was lucky there would be a change.

As it turned out, they were going on a field trip. In other words, they weren't going to be stuck in a classroom listening to the teachers lecturing them for a change.

"Finally!" bellowed Ruby. She hadn't really gone outside ever since she had visited the Emerald Forest. She wanted to get some fresh air...and use her semblance which exhilarated her.

Much like the Emerald Forest test, the upcoming test was going to be rather simple. She sighed in relief. She was worried that it was going to be rather complicated.

However, she noted that once again, they were going to enter a forest that had Grimm as she had wondered...Grimm that were slightly stronger than the ones in Emerald Forest. It looked like they were going to be progressing a bit through their first year.

Also, Ms. Goodwitch was going to supervising it, so it would be best for them to stay on their good behavior. Something told her that she and Cardin did not get along.

She decided that she should tell her teammates. They would want to know about this...and get ready for the exam.

As it turned out, they were relaxing in their room. Juane was swinging his sword around, Yang was stretching out her arms, and Cardin was looking at the wall in disinterest.

"Did you find out what the next test was going to be?" asked Juane. Hopefully it wasn't anything too difficult. If so, he was going to be rather frightened. Those Grimm wanted to eat him!

"We're going to Forever Fall!" exclaimed Ruby. Hopefully that didn't mean that they were going to be falling forever...that would get boring after a while.

"I heard that it's known for its red sap..." stated the member of the Arc family. Maybe the red sap in question was rather delicious.

"I can't wait to pour it on somebody." remarked Cardin. That sounded like it would be fun to watch...especially since it was at another person's expense. He was such a sadist.

Now, if only he didn't come across a masochist. That wouldn't be fun. They would probably stalk him.

"Won't that...be messy?" questioned Yang. If he was going to pour it on her, none of it had better get on her hair.

"Of course, we did venture into a forest not too long ago..." answered the scythe-wielding huntress. That fateful day decided who they got partnered up with. She was just glad that she was on the same team as her sister.

"It looks like we're doing it again..." remarked Ruby's older sister.

"It looks that way..." nodded the brunette.

"I wonder if it's going to be as eventful as what happened as Emerald Forest..." answered Jaune.

"That's kind of a tough act to follow..." acknowledged Ruby.

"It kind of is..." nodded Yang. They sure attracted a lot of Grimm.

"How big is Forever Fall, anyway?" inquired Cardin.

"I heard that it's not as big as Emerald Forest...but the Grimm are a bit tougher..." noted Jaune.

"Then we'd best be on our guard." suggested Ruby.

"Whatever." answered Cardin.

"I wonder how the other teams will react when they figure out where they're going..." stated the Arc family member.

"They're probably itching for excitement..." said Yang. She knew she was.

"You know what my idea of excitement is? Bashing things with my mace!" exclaimed Cardin.

"You sure you should be doing that?" questioned Ruby.

"I know! I'll start with you!" bellowed the bully.

Immediately, Cardin pulled out his mace.

"Uh-oh." said the young huntress, her eyes widening.

He then used it to send Ruby crashing through the wall and right outside Beacon Academy.

"Well, that was slightly painful." remarked the scythe-wielding girl as she got back up and dusted herself off. Cardin clearly had been practicing using his mace, it seemed. Of course, he probably had it before he came to Beacon Academy in the first place.

This made Yang very angry. And to think that Cardin did it when she was in the same room as her too.

"Nobody hurts my sister!" bellowed Yang.

"What are you going to do about it?" asked Cardin.

Yang punched Cardin in the face.

"Whoa!" bellowed Juane.

"You picking a fight with me? It's on." stated the bully.

Juane decided to leave the room through the Ruby-shaped hole that Cardin made. Things were about to get messy. Perhaps having Yang and Cardin in the same room wasn't such a good idea...especially a room that was rather enclosed.

Quickly, Ruby went to get her and Jaune's personal belongings.

She then dashed back to where she was earlier shortly afterwards.

Sure enough, Yang and Cardin were starting to fight each other. Cardin was trying to hit Yang with his mace and Yang was trying to beat up Cardin with her bare hands...and of course her gauntlets.

"Nobody sends my sister flying through a wall and gets away with it!" bellowed Yang.

"Oddly enough my friends haven't been able to get away with anything at all lately..." answered Cardin. How were their schemes going so wrong? They seemed so competent back when they were at Signal Academy together.

"Well, neither are you!" exclaimed the blonde. As she said, nobody hurts her sister...and makes a big gaping hole in her room.

Immediately, she began to punch and kick Cardin, hoping to make him a living punching bag.

However, Cardin wasn't going to stand there and take it. He did not want his friends to find out that he had lost to a girl. That would most likely destroy his masculinity and make him a laughingstock.

Slamming his mace in the ground, he knocked Yang down.

Yang got back up shortly afterward, though she did seem rather tired.

She decided to take a few seconds to catch her breath. Sometimes it ran away from her.

"Is that all you got?" asked Cardin.

"As a matter of fact, I'm just getting warmed up!" bellowed Yang, activating her semblance.

In the process, she ended up setting her bed on fire.

"Darn it! Where am I going to sleep at night?" questioned the blonde.

"Outside in the cold?" inquired Cardin, thinking about Yang shivering.

"Very funny..." answered Yang, cracking her knuckles.

Immediately, she picked up Cardin, raising him above her head.

"Put me down!" exclaimed Cardin. Good lord! How was Yang so strong? She made a Beowulf seem as weak as a kitten!

Yang then followed by tossing him and sending him crashing straight through the wall.

"Great, now there are two gaping holes in our room..." stated Ruby.

"I know...I sure hope that Beacon Academy has decent construction workers..." remarked Jaune.

"Poetic justice!" bellowed the blonde.

"You think that's going to take me down? Your sister survived that without a scratch!" exclaimed Cardin. If she could do that, then so could he. He was made of iron.

"Yeah...she's been drinking her milk." answered Yang. She wanted to grow up.

"Maybe a cow will fart on her." taunted the bully.

"Maybe I'll introduce you to my fist!" bellowed the blonde.

Sure enough, she did just that, giving Cardin a black eye. She really packed a mean punch.

This made Cardin rather angry. He was done playing with Yang now.

"Alright, now you've made me mad. And you won't like me when I'm angry." stated Cardin. His friends had learned that the hard way.

"You won't like me when I'm mad either!" bellowed Yang.

Meanwhile, Team NRDS were wondering what was going on. They were hearing noises coming from Team RAYC's room. It sounded like two people were fighting inside. Maybe it was a bad case of...domestic violence?

"What's going on in there?" questioned Nora.

"Maybe we could check that hole in the wall..." stated Russel.

As such, they decided to do just that...and they were forced to duck when Yang hurled a dresser.

"I'm dressed for success...and you're dressed for failure!" bellowed Yang.

"I like my outfit." complained Cardin.

In the process, Russel got one of Yang's yellow bras.

"Score!" exclaimed Russel. He was going to keep it in his closet...even if people would wonder if he was secretly a girl in disguise.

Also, Nora got some of Cardin's briefs. However, she wasn't so happy about it.

"These smell awful..." complained the female warrior as she covered her nose. Why couldn't they smell like pancakes? She knew that her panties smelled like them.

"Yeah...Cardin isn't too hygienic." remarked Dove. When was the last time that he took a shower? Did he decided that the guys were unworthy of his abs when he wore nothing but a towel or something?

Happy that Yang was proving to be such a challenge (though he was surprised about that considering that Yang was a girl), Cardin decided to activate his semblance.

Immediately, his muscles began to expand. He was about ten times as strong as he was before now. He was also taller too. He was definitely towering above his teammates...even more than before.

"You're mine now!" bellowed Cardin.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that winners don't use drugs?" questioned Yang.

"I think that she might have smoked crack while she was pregnant with me..." answered the bully.

"That explains a lot." remarked the blonde.

Yang and Cardin charged at each other, hoping to end the battle once and for all. If only they could settle this matter peacefully. Unfortunately, Cardin thought that peace was overrated.

In the process, they created a ball of cartoonish violence.

"What's going in there?" questioned Ruby.

"It looks like they've somehow managed to create a giant dust cloud..." remarked Jaune. Maybe they needed to mop the floor a bit more.

Speaking of which, Ruby was hoping that Yang was going to mop the floor with Cardin. She would be really proud of her sister if she did manage to beat him. Still, Cardin was one of the stronger students in the academy. Could she do it?

At that very moment, the dust began to clear.

"Maybe we'll get to see who the winner is!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Maybe we can..." nodded Jaune.

When the dust cleared, Yang and Cardin were both panting heavily. It looked like they were almost out of aura. One would be surprised how quickly it could be used up, especially when fighting hordes of Grimm.

"I guess this is a draw..." remarked Yang.

"Yeah...next time, I'm going to win!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Whatever..." answered the blonde.

Since the fight was over, Ruby and Juane decided to come back in.

"That was quite a battle!" exclaimed Ruby.

"I wish I could fight that well..." remarked Jaune.

Curious, Ruby noticed that Yang's bed had scorch marks on it from when she activated her semblance.

"Things got rather messy between you and Cardin, didn't it?" questioned Ruby.

"It sure did. But not to worry...Cardin and I managed to work things out. He's more bark than bite..." answered Yang.

"I'm ALL bite!" contradicted Cardin.

"I've never seen you bite anybody." pointed out the strong girl.

"Someday I will!" bellowed the bully.

Immediately, Cardin decided to leave. He was looking forward to having a rematch with Yang.

Yang decided to leave as well. After that battle she was itching to head back to the gym.

Now, all that were left were Ruby and Jaune.

A few minutes after Yang and Cardin's fight, they received a visit from the mailman.

Ruby had in fact seen the mailman visiting other teams before. Apparently, their family were giving them presents from home.

Speaking of which, Ruby wondered if SHE was getting presents from home.

Likewise, Jaune was wondering the same.

As it turned out, there was a package for both of them.

Since Ruby was the fastest member of her team, she managed to open her first.

Her eyes widened when she realized what was inside.

"Yes! Chocolate chip cookies!" cheered Ruby, her mouth drooling with anticipation.

Before Jaune could ask if he could have one, Ruby wolfed them down in less than a minute. And to think that there were a dozen of them too.

Miraculously, she did not end up choking.

According to the label on the package, it was sent directly by her father.

"It's nice that your father gave you cookies..." stated Jaune.

"Yeah...it's too bad that my mother isn't with me anymore...her cookies were the best!" exclaimed Ruby. Well, there was no use crying over spilled milk...even if she had done so in the past. She loved milk!

Jaune decided to open his package next. It was from his mother.

As it turned out, it was a picture of him and his family...back when he was 10. By the looks of it, it was from a birthday party.

"That was a good memory..." remarked Jaune.

"I bet it was..." nodded Ruby.

Shortly afterwards, he received a package from the school itself.

Jaune wondered what was inside.

As it turned out, it was a copy of his transcript.

"Oh..." stated Jaune.

Apparently, Headmaster Ozpin wanted him to know how proud of him he was.

"Can I have a look?" asked Ruby.

"Why not?" nodded the blonde.

Ruby decided to have a look.

"Wow! I'm really impressed!" exclaimed Ruby.

"I bet you are..." nodded Jaune.

"It says here that you left home and managed to take down a Grimm Dragon at the age of ten with your bare hands! I wish I could do that..." stated the huntress.

"Maybe you will one someday..." answered the hunter.

Ruby squealed. Jaune was even more awesome than Miss Goodwitch was!

"It also says that you managed to take down an army of Grimm that were attacking Vale!" exclaimed Ruby, feeling more excited.

"Yeah...there were a lot of them. There were even Goliaths!" bellowed Juane. It was too bad they couldn't take their ivory since the Goliaths always burst into darkness when they were killed, as difficult as it was to kill them in the first place.

"It also says that you blew up several White Fang Headquarters with high-power explosives!" cheered the huntress.

"Yep..." nodded Jaune. The explosions were heard across the block.

"I'm still impressed as it was how you managed to take down that Grimm Dragon on your tenth birth-"

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"Wait a minute...if you left home on your tenth birthday to hunt down that Grimm Dragon...then what are you doing with your sisters and your mother and father in your house in this picture?" questioned Ruby, pulling out the picture of Juane's tenth birthday.

"Um..." stated Jaune.

"Is he your twin brother or something?" asked the brunette. Juane had only mentioned his seven sisters to her before...and not any brothers. Something told her that he was a very outnumbered sibling.

Of course, the only siblings she had was her sister...why did her father's wives keep ending up dead? Did he WANT to be a widower?

Juane sighed. There was no use lying to Ruby, it seems.

"About that...I faked my transcript." answered the Arc family member.

"What? You did?" inquired Ruby.

"Yes, I did...I wanted to get into Beacon Academy rather badly...so I made up a bunch of impressive things so that I could get in..." explained Jaune.

"I guess that explains why your transcript is so incredible...and why you aren't so good at combat..." stated the huntress.

"Yeah..." nodded the blonde. He didn't even pass from Signal!

"You think anyone will find out that you faked your transcript?" asked Ruby.

"Well, you were the very first..." answered Jaune.

"Yeah...it's a good thing I'm good at keeping a secret..." stated the huntress.

Jaune sighed in relief.

"You know, maybe if I train you to be a hunter...maybe nobody will need to know about this." said the huntress.

"Really? You would do that?" asked the swordsman.

"Of course I would! You are my partner, after all..." nodded Ruby.

"Alright..." answered Jaune. It was a good thing that he could count on his teammate like that.

"It's a good thing that Yang and Cardin weren't in the room..." noted the huntress. That way they wouldn't know about Juane's secret too.

"Yeah...it's a relief." stated the swordsman. He was worried that if Cardin found out, he would blackmail him about it. Make him do all sorts of embarrassing things...and make him do his homework, the slacker.

"I think I'll watch TV now..." answered Ruby.

Quickly, she pulled out her remote and began to watch TV.

As it turned out, she was watching Red vs. Blue.

"I think the Blue Team are feeling rather blue. They keep losing lately..." remarked Ruby.

"That's too bad..." nodded Jaune. How were they going to recover from their losses?

"We interrupt this program for an important announcement." said a voice.

"Darn it!" bellowed the huntress. Why did this always happen while she was watching her favorite shows?

"I wonder what's so important about it?" questioned the hunter.

"It looks like you might want to be celebrating. The notorious crime lord Junior is dead...he was found stabbed to death. For some strange reason, it appeared to have been done by an umbrella..." explained the news lady.

"An umbrella?" inquired Ruby. Who would want to use that as a weapon? Of course, it probably would be good for a rainy day.

"He's finally gone, huh?" asked Jaune. He was starting to wonder if the police would EVER catch him.

"In other news, notorious criminal Roman Torchwick has been recently spotted with a girl with a hairstyle which reminds you of ice cream..." stated the news lady.

"A girl who reminds you of ice cream? Sound delicious...but evil!" remarked Ruby.

"I wonder who that girl is..." answered Jaune.

"You may now start watching TV again..." said the news anchor.

"Finally! I was getting impatient!" exclaimed the huntress. She wanted to see how the episode would end.

Yang and Cardin entered the room a few minutes later.

"Welcome back, sis!" exclaimed Ruby.

As it turned out, they wanted to see what they had gotten from the mail lately.

As Yang discovered, she had also gotten mail...which was a gift from her father.

"Alright! A pair of dumbbells!" cheered Yang. Now she could work out some more.

Cardin decided to see what he had gotten from the mail.

As it turned out, he had gotten a lot of mail, most of which was from the other students at Beacon Academy. Some of them were hate mail from those who he had bullied in the past. He hadn't made himself popular around school...in contrast with Pyrrha.

Others were letters from his victims that were begging for mercy. He thought that those were good for a laugh. Mercy was for babies.

Suddenly, Ruby had an idea.

"Hey, Jaune! Maybe you could show your transcript to Weiss! Maybe she would be impressed with you..." answered Ruby. She had been trying to impress Weiss ever since she came to the academy...but so far she hadn't gotten any luck. Maybe her standards were too high.

"That's a great idea!" exclaimed Jaune. Maybe if he was lucky Weiss would give him a kiss.

Immediately, he went to the library to search for Team PWBR. He knew that Blake was a bookworm and Ren enjoyed peace and quiet, so it seemed like a good place to look.

Sure enough, there they were. Pyrrha was currently signing someone's notebook, Weiss was eating an ice cream cone, Blake was reading a book about katanas, and Ren was currently making ninja poses.

"Hey there, Weiss! Want to read my transcript?" asked Jaune.

"You again?" questioned Weiss. Well, she supposed she might as well humor him.

"This better not be a picture of you naked..." warned the ice queen.

"Of course not!" exclaimed the blonde. Of course, he did want Weiss to think that he was sexy.

Suddenly, the wind blew the transcript away.

"What the-!" bellowed Jaune.

"Sorry, I left the window open." apologized Ren. He needed to be more careful. What if he ended up like his former voice actor and creator?

Unfortunately for Jaune, the transcript ended up going straight through the window at the mercy of the winds, leaving the academy entirely.

"Nooooo!" bellowed Jaune.

"You might want to use your indoors voice. This is a library." pointed out Blake.

"Nooooo..." whispered the blonde.

"So...anything else you wanted to show me?" asked Weiss.

"Not really..." answered Juane.

Without saying a word, he made his way back to his room.

"How'd it go?" asked Ruby, standing outside her current living space.

"Not very good...I lost my transcript..." answered Jaune.

"At least you don't have to worry about it incriminating you anymore..." stated the huntress.

"I suppose that's something, at least." nodded the hunter.

He and Ruby opened the door and entered their room once again.

"So...anything you want to do to get ready for the exams?" inquired Jaune. He could try hunting Grimm again, but he was worried that it might be dangerous for him. Those vicious creatures NEVER showed mercy. Why couldn't they have a conscience?

"Maybe we could go spar with some of our friends..." stated Ruby. She was sure that they would enjoy the combat experience.

"Like...who?" answered Cardin. Personally he would like to spar with his three friends sometime to show them who was the top dog. He knew he was.

"Maybe we could spar against Team PWBR..." questioned Yang. They seemed rather strong. Their team was pronounced "PWBR" after all.

Immediately, they decided to pay them a visit.

Sure enough, they were outside, trying to hone their skills. Pyrrha was using her spear, Ren was practicing his ninja moves, Weiss was using her sword, and Blake was reading a book, oddly enough.

"Hey, Weiss!" bellowed Jaune.

"Are you trying to impress me again?" asked Weiss.

"We just wanted to challenge you to a fight..." clarified Ruby.

"Alright, but if you challenge me, I'm going to beat you..." stated the ice huntress. She was just a kid.

"We'll just see about that." spoke the wind huntress.

"I'm going to own you all!" bellowed Cardin.

And so the fight began.

 _In case it's not obvious, things are going to deviate from canon like I made changes in the Emerald Forest. This is RWBY With A Twist after all. Of course, some events are going to play out like they did in the original, but I don't want to change the plot too much._

 _I hope you're up for the next chapter! Happy Valentine's Day!_


	13. Chapter 13: RAYC vs PWBR

_In this chapter, RAYC is going to take on Team PWBR...maybe they'll take on Team NRDS afterwards, even if it means for Cardin that he has to fight his friends. You never know. And in case you were wondering, they aren't taking any bets. They decided that they were simply going to do it for the experience, especially Juane since he's the weakest member of his team. Sorry if you were hoping for someone to end up getting humiliated because they betted on doing something that was rather embarrassing._

 _Of course, this is the thirteenth chapter...so you were probably expecting that._

 _Well, hunters and huntresses are going to get injured, I can tell you that much. And someone...nasty...is going to show up in this chapter._

 **Chapter 13: RAYC vs. PWBR**

"So...whose going to face who first?" questioned Pyrrha. She wondered who she was going to be paired up with. Of course, they would probably rather ask for her autograph instead of fighting her. She started to wonder if going to public school wasn't such a good idea...though she would probably get lonely if she went somehow more private.

As it turned out, they hadn't decided who was going to face who yet. They could simply face each other four-on-four...but they figured that would probably get messy. After all, Ruby was worried that she might end up accidentally wrecking the statue of the school's founder once again.

"How are we going to do that?" inquired Jaune. He supposed that there were several possibilities on deciding who got to fight who, such as flipping a coin for instance. Alternatively, they could simply decide for themselves who their opponent should be. But he decided that he would let Ruby make the decision since she was the leader.

On the other hand, those were rather popular during the Vytal Tournament, though eventually it ended up being two on two and one on one.

"Maybe we can draw straws?" questioned Ruby. Perhaps it would be best if they decided at random.

"That's not a bad idea, Ruby...did you take them from the cafeteria?" inquired Yang.

"They gave them to us for free..." pointed out the fifteen-year-old huntress. She just loved putting straws in her milk.

"Right..." nodded the blonde. She had gotten some strawberry sunrises for free herself. People were scared of her.

Of course, she did manage to take down Junior and his gang with her bare hands. Speaking of which, she had heard that he had died recently. She wondered who could have possibly murdered him. Maybe he had gotten on the bad side of all the other crime lords.

Ruby pulled out several straws of varying length.

"Let the games begin!" bellowed Ruby.

Juane was hoping that he didn't end up being paired up against Weiss. That would be rather difficult for him.

On the other side of things, Weiss was probably getting annoyed with Juane because he kept trying to flirt with her and probably wouldn't mind fighting with him. Why couldn't he tone it down a bit more?

"Let me see now..." stated Ruby as each of them drew straws.

As it turned out, Juane was going to fight...Pyrrha.

"At least I don't have to fight Weiss..." stated Jaune.

Weiss rolled her eyes. Did Jaune really think that she was that attractive? Usually the guys distanced themselves from her so that she didn't accidentally blow them up with her dust.

Immediately, Jaune and Pyrrha walked a short distance away from Ruby and the others.

"You ready?" asked Ruby.

Jaune and Pyrrha nodded. Both of them had already pulled out their weapons. Incidentally, they both were wielding a shield. Apparently, they both liked attacking and defending.

"Fight!" exclaimed the huntress.

Jaune attacked first, trying to hit Pyrrha with his sword. The Arc family prided themselves on their swordsmanship...hence the reason why he wielded a sword in the first place.

Unfortunately for him, Pyrrha blocked it with her shield rather easily. And to make matters worse for Juane, his sword couldn't simply cut through it to get to Pyrrha. What was that shield made out of? It certainly seemed sturdier than his.

She then poked Jaune with her spear.

"Ow!" bellowed Jaune, rubbing his arm where Pyrrha had poked it. That spear was pointy.

Something told Ruby that Jaune wasn't going to do too well against Pyrrha. Let's just say that PWBR was pronounced "Power" for a reason.

"Maybe having a girl beat him up will make him not want to flirt with me..." thought Weiss.

Jaune attempted to hit Pyrrha again, but she blocked it with her shield once more.

"You're telegraphing your attacks too much." pointed out Pyrrha.

"D'oh!" exclaimed Jaune.

However, when Pyrrha attempted to poke him with her spear again, he blocked it with his shield. Apparently he had decided to use the same tactics that Pyrrha was using.

"Very good, Juane!" bellowed Ruby. It was a good thing that Juane also had a shield...though she wondered just how long Juane was going to last.

Unfortunately for Jaune, Pyrrha was starting to use her magnetism semblance. It sure was useful when facing opponents such as Juane...though she could probably beat him even without it.

All of a sudden, Jaune was having a very hard time lifting his weapon. He was in fact sweating from the effort.

"Come on...come on..." said Jaune. Maybe fighting someone that was stronger than he was making him nervous? He knew that being around Cardin made him rather uneasy.

Ruby wondered what was going on. Juane had no trouble lifting it before. Of course, he wasn't fighting another hunter back then.

"Since when was it so heavy?" questioned Juane. It seemed so light a few minutes ago.

Eventually, he dropped it on the floor, unable to carry it. It was if something was pulling the sword away from him. But what could it be?

"Uh-oh." stated the blonde, realizing that he had been disarmed. How was he supposed to fight Pyrrha now? Of course, he couldn't exactly fight her to begin with. If only he had hand-to-hand combat experience like Yang did.

Pyrrha then hit Juane with her spear once again, dropping Juane's low aura reserves to zero. If only he trained so that he had more of it. Maybe Ruby could help him with that.

Well, there was no used crying over spilled milk. Besides, Pyrrha was helping him to his feet, so at least she was a fair sport.

"Darn it! You lost!" bellowed Cardin. Jaune was not a credit to his team. And to think that he lost to a girl too.

"That wasn't a fair fight, was it?" questioned Ruby. Jaune was one of the worst students in Beacon Academy...and unfortunately for him, Pyrrha was one of the best. No wonder she was so popular...and no wonder Jaune kept being bullied.

"I'm sure we'll be able to even the score..." answered Yang. Maybe it would end up with a tie.

Once again, they drew straws to see who would go next.

As it turned out, Cardin was going up against Ren. He smirked in satisfaction. He did not like to be kept waiting..even if Juane's fight with Pyrrha was rather entertaining.

"This is going to be a cakewalk..." remarked Cardin, feeling rather confident.

"What makes you say that?" inquired Ren.

Suddenly, Cardin sent Ren flying with his mace...just like he had done to Ruby not long ago.

"He really loves using that mace, doesn't he?" questioned Ruby.

"At least he didn't send anyone crashing through the wall this time..." stated Yang. Otherwise he was going to get arrested for vandalism.

"Whoa!" bellowed the ninja hunter. Cardin's mace really packed a wallop. His strength was rather impressive...even if he wasn't as fast as Yang was.

"That's one mean mace..." remarked Ruby. Cardin was almost as strong as her sister was.

However, Ren was not going down so easily, despite what Cardin was thinking.

"You're trying to pick a fight with me, huh? I'll have you know that when I picked a fight with my partner I ended up wrecking my whole room!" bellowed Cardin.

"Technically, it was my room too. And...yeah..." nodded Yang. Of course, Cardin had neglected to mention that she had caused roughly half the damage. Ruby was really glad that she was on the same team as her.

"That's rather impressive...but I don't feel like leaving a fight this early..." pointed out Ren. Hopefully he would do better than Juane did, at least. Unfortunately for him, he was severely outclassed by Pyrrha, though he did make good use of his shield like she did.

Blake was worried about Ren's chances of beating Cardin. He wasn't feared throughout Beacon Academy for nothing...though admittedly it was mainly the first-years that feared him.

Ren used his pistols to shoot at Cardin, but he blocked it with his mace, causing Cardin to smirk.

"Is that all you got? At least you seem to be better than my teammate..." answered the bully.

"Cut Juane some slack! He's getting better!" exclaimed Ruby. Of course, it helped that he had been working with teammates that were rather strong as of late.

"Don't be silly. He'll never catch up to me." stated the bully. For some strange reason he got the feeling that Juane was hiding something from him...although he wasn't quite sure what.

"Hmph." answered Yang. Hopefully Cardin would learn his place one day.

Suddenly, Ren hit Cardin in the stomach with a karate chop.

"Ow!" bellowed Cardin. Unfortunately for Cardin, it appeared that Ren knew martial arts. Apparently he liked watching Jackie Chan movies.

In addition, he was also acrobatic. Currently, he was doing backflips in order to avoid being hit by Cardin's mace.

After getting a distance away from Cardin, he started shooting him with his pistols again. It was a good idea to try attacking him from a distance to make sure that he didn't get clobbered by Cardin's mace.

"Urgh!" bellowed Cardin. It looked like Ren was going to be a more difficult opponent than he thought. He needed to avoid underestimating his opponents. It was a good thing that his team could counter each other's weaknesses.

Immediately, he began to charge straight at him.

Unfortunately, it appeared that Ren was faster than he was. He wasn't going to be able to catch him.

He was going to have to come up with a different plan.

Acting quickly, he hit the ground with a mace, leaving an imprint in the ground.

"Take it easy, Cardin! We don't want to wreck the school!" bellowed Ruby. Ms. Goodwitch would be awfully upset if she found that Cardin had gotten careless and had caused severe property damage.

"Don't tell me what to do!" exclaimed Cardin. He was going to fight Ren HIS way.

"But I'm the leader..." pointed out the huntress.

"Don't remind me." retorted the school bully.

Immediately, he tossed his mace at Ren's head, causing his eyes to widen as he noticed it flying towards him.

It was a direct hit...and a nasty one at that.

"Ow." murmured Ren. He was probably going to have a migraine later.

He passed out on the floor shortly afterwards.

"Score one for Cardin!" exclaimed Cardin as he picked up his mace. Now it looked like he and Team PWBR were tied. Of course, now he was going to have to rely on his teammates to do the rest of the work for him, which kind of...sucked.

Weiss and Blake applauded, though they wondered if Ren was going to be alright. His head appeared to be bleeding a bit.

Blake decided to check to see if Ren was alright.

Fortunately, he woke up shortly afterwards. Apparently his aura had managed to protect him...even if he was lacking in aura in comparison to his teammates.

"Did I lose?" questioned Ren.

"Yes, you did, unfortunately. You did put up a good fight though." answered Blake.

"That's nice." nodded the ninja.

Speaking of which, Yang and Blake were going to fight next. They drew the second-longest straws.

This of course left Ruby to fight Weiss after the battle. Weiss personally thought that it was going to be a cakewalk. But would it?

Immediately, Blake and Yang got ready to fight.

"You ready?" asked Yang.

"Yes, I am." nodded Blake.

Quickly, Yang attempted to punch Blake with her fists.

But instead of hitting Blake, she ended up hitting a clone instead.

"What the-" exclaimed Yang.

Shortly afterward, she found herself being hit by Blake's Gambol Shroud.

"Oof!" bellowed the huntress.

"You know, it's funny..." answered Ruby.

"What is?" questioned Weiss.

"Blake has the exact opposite fighting style that Yang does...Yang relies on being hit to win fights while Blake relies on avoiding enemy attacks to win instead...ironic, eh?" asked the young huntress.

"Yes, I will admit that it's rather ironic." nodded the white-haired dust user.

Unfortunately for Yang, she ended up hitting clones every time she tried hitting Blake. It was getting rather annoying. Why couldn't she hit the real Blake?

Perhaps she needed to look for slight differences between the clones. Maybe Blake couldn't replicate herself perfectly...

Suddenly, she noticed that one of the clones was lacking a bow.

It was at that very moment she discovered where the real Blake was...and she gave her a punch.

Blake collapsed on the floor. Apparently she couldn't take hits as well as Yang could.

"Looks like you won..." remarked Blake.

"Good fight." stated Yang as she helped Blake to her feet.

"That was a real catfight..." remarked Cardin.

Blake's eyes widened when Cardin said that.

"What?" asked the bully.

"Nothing, nothing!" exclaimed Blake.

"I'm going to cream you." stated Weiss.

"Cream sounds good right now." said Ruby.

Weiss rolled her eyes.

Much to Weiss's surprise, Ruby lunged straight towards her. Why was she doing that? She would never do something so reckless...even if she was rather fast herself.

She decided that it would be best to try to stop Ruby in her tracks.

As such, she started shooting icicles at Ruby.

In the process, she ended up freezing the floor.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa-" said Ruby, shaking her arms back and forth. This ice was really slippery.

Unsurprisingly, she lost her balance...and she was sent flying straight into Weiss.

"What the-" exclaimed Weiss.

Ruby crashed into Weiss...really hard.

"It's a good thing I crashed into something soft!" remarked Ruby.

"Oh my aching head..." stated Weiss.

Weiss collapsed on the floor.

"It looks like we win today." remarked Cardin. "In your face, losers!"

"You're a real sore winner, you know that?" stated Weiss.

Cardin blew raspberries.

"Please be mature, Cardin. You can't always win either, you know." stated Jaune.

"But I'm a champion!" exclaimed the bully.

"Let's go get some ice cream!" cheered Ruby.

Immediately, Ruby, Yang, Cardin, and Jaune went to the nearest ice cream parlor.

 _Meanwhile in the city of Mistral..._

At a section of the city populated by Faunus, one such Faunus was protesting how they were being mistreated once again. Unlike the White Fang, they did not plan to solve their problems with violence...since apparently violence did not solve problems. In fact, they were wondering if Adam Taurus was really taking the best course of action.

Several Faunus had taken interest and had gathered outside. Apparently, they supported what the spokesperson was doing, even if some of them simply wanted to join the White Fang and don on the masks they always wore.

"My fellow Faunus brethen...we must let the humans know that we should not have to be mistreated! We and the humans are hardly different at all! Really, all we needed to do was disguise ourselves was wear a hat or something like that..." remarked the crowd speaker.

The Faunus nodded in agreement. Why should they be treated so differently from humans simply because they had animal features? They did in fact resemble humans despite technically being a different species. It was rather weird.

But unbeknownst to them, they were being watched. Watched by someone who hated everything that had to do with the Faunus.

"Foolish Faunus...do they really think that the humans will really accept them into our society? They'd be better off dying..." remarked the man. Of course, it wasn't every day when he saw a peaceful protest such as this.

Immediately, he pulled out a red pitchfork.

He then began to fire bursts of dark fire at the crowd, grinning all the while.

The crowd speaker gassed in shock. Who was attacking them?

Quickly, the Faunus began to realize what was going on. Clearly, they were under attack...though at the moment they weren't sure who was attacking them.

They began to run.

Unfortunately, they found themselves surrounded by individuals that were dressed in black and were wearing black gloves as they tried to evacuate the area.

The Faunus gasped in shock. It was none other than the Black Hand, the very antithesis of the White Fang! Incidentally, the Black Hand were created shortly after the White Fang resorted to violence to solve their problems with humans. Apparently, they had decided that the Faunus were violent savages that deserved their mistreatment and should be put to death. What were they doing here?

As it turned out, the Black Hand had come to kill them all. Their nightmares had come true. Up until now, they thought that the Black Hand made up to simply scare Faunus children...they couldn't have been more wrong.

And unfortunately, they were succeeding. As it turned out, one of the reasons these particular Faunus weren't resorting to violence was because none of them happened to be hunters and huntresses. Of course, they probably wouldn't resort to violence even if they were hunters and huntresses. More often that not, violence tended to attract Grimm. Perhaps they liked the taste of blood.

In contrast, these members of the Black Hand were experienced killers.

Quickly, the Faunus found themselves being overwhelmed.

Eventually, they were all dead. The Black Hand had left no survivors.

"Looks like a job well done." remarked one of the Black Hand. Now they wouldn't have to worry about the Faunus gathering together to attack the humans...at least for the time being.

At that very moment, their leader stepped on the stage where the crowd speaker was. He was looking forward to this.

He was dressed in black armor, had black hair, was wearing a black helmet, and like his followers was wearing black gloves. His eyes were glowing red underneath the helmet, strangely enough. He was rather happy that his followers had managed to slay the Faunus in the crowd. But he decided that he would deal with this particular Faunus himself.

As it turned out, he was the one wielding a pitchfork previously.

"What do you want from us?" bellowed the crowd speaker. He got the feeling that this man did not have good intentions.

"Oh, it's rather simple. I can't have you reasoning with the humans, now can I?" asked the leader of the Black Hand.

"Who are you?" questioned the Faunus.

"Who am I? It's rather simple...I'm the leader of the Black Hand. But since I'm going to kill you anyway, you may call me Maleficus." stated the man, grinning underneath his black helmet.

The unfortunate Faunus gasped in shock. That very name sent a chill down his spine. It sounded...evil. Of course, he couldn't really suspect anything else from the leader of the Black Hand. They had been killing Faunus for years.

And unfortunately, the police had not made much effort to stop them, due to the fact that they were biased against Faunus. Sometimes he really hated the police.

He could not believe that he was meeting the leader of the Black Hand in the flesh. Who would have thought that he of all people would show up?

Of course, now was not the time to ask for an autograph.

Unfortunately, he was going to be the last person that he ever saw.

Wasting no time, Maleficus ran the Faunus spokesperson through with his pitchfork. He would never allow the Faunus and the humans to make peace. The very idea sickened him.

In fact, he would not rest until the Faunus were completely wiped out, one way or another. Oddly enough, he thought that he was making Remnant a "better place".

"It's only a matter of time before I can finally get rid of the filthy scum that is plaguing Remnant..." remarked Maleficus.

 _Meanwhile..._

"I just felt a chill go down my soul." remarked Blake. She had shivers down her spine.

Pyrrha, Weiss, and Ren shrugged. What could have caused that?

It was too bad that they had lost their battle with Team RWBY...but they would probably have better luck next time.

Alternatively, they could try dueling a different team. Of course, Ren didn't know how he would react to facing Nora. It felt rather awkward.

At that very moment, Nora showed up.

"Hey there, Ren! How are you doing?" asked Nora.

"We lost against Team RAYC..." stated Ren.

"Awww, what happened?" inquired the teenage girl.

"Ren got hit in the head with a mace, Blake got punched out by Yang, and believe it or not, Weiss got slashed up by Ruby..." stated Pyrrha.

"It was a one-time fluke." remarked Weiss.

"What about you?" asked Nora.

"I managed to beat Juane...in a few seconds..." stated Pyrrha.

"At least you scored a victory!" exclaimed the hammer wielder.

"Yes, I did." nodded the shieldmaiden.

"There's a reason why she's the one in charge..." remarked Blake. Of course, there was a reason why other people were in charge of teams too.

Now that she thought of it, wasn't Nora the leader of her team? It seemed like an odd choice at first...but now it was making sense.

"I wonder why he couldn't lift his weapon..." answered Weiss. She didn't think that even Juane was rather confident. Besides, he was fighting in order to impress her...though he didn't really succeed.

"Oh, that was my semblance in action..." explained Pyrrha.

"Your semblance?" questioned the ice huntress.

"I can control magnetism..." stated the magnetic warrior.

"Oh...that makes sense." nodded Weiss. Jaune's weapons were made out of metal, after all.

"That would probably come in handy in the event you faced a homicidal robot..." remarked Blake.

Ren nodded in agreement.

"It probably would..." answered Pyrrha. Of course, she had never faced a homicidal robot before...nor would she want to. But yes, that would come in rather handy.

"Any other crazy powers you all have?" questioned Weiss.

"I can see in the dark." remarked Blake.

"Meh, that's not really impressive..." stated the ice huntress.

"Aww..." complained the cat girl.

"I have ninja skills?" pointed out Ren.

"We already know that." answered Weiss.

"So...what do you want to do now that we're done with school for today?" inquired Blake.

"We should get ready for the Forever Fall exam..." explained Pyrrha.

"Good point." nodded Blake.

Immediately, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Ren went to the training room in order to hone their skills.

Hopefully the exam would turn out well for them.

 _I suppose you want me our protagonists to head to Forever Fall already, eh? In the next chapter, they'll do just that. And of course there will be Grimm. Hope you'll still be able to sleep at night._

 _Since this is the thirteenth chapter I decided to include something grim...and no, I don't mean the Grimm...though one could say that this individual is more vile than the Grimm._

 _In the next chapter, the first-years are going to take the Forever Fall test. Unfortunately, things are going to go wrong._


	14. Chapter 14: Falling Down

_In this chapter, the first-years are going to visit Forever Fall forest to get some red sap...which of course Nora likes. She would probably put it on her pancakes._

 _But of course, sometimes things don't go according to plan. As you're probably aware, there are Grimm in the forest. Grimm that would like to make a meal out of Ruby and her friends._

 _Being lower on the food chain isn't fun, huh?_

 **Chapter 14: Falling Down**

Pyrrha was looking forward to their next test. She thought that she would do well and that she would earn the respect of the teachers at Beacon Academy on account on being one of their top students.

She did admit that she already had the respect of most of the students at the academy as it was, but she figured that she should try to get along with her teachers and show them that she was a good huntress.

Of course, she was more interested in helping her teammates. They would appreciate it if they gave her a hand since she was the leader of their team.

Blake decided to see what was on TV. Maybe it was something that it didn't involve Faunus bashing. Unfortunately, there were TV shows that were like that. It felt strange being the only Faunus in a group of humans. Of course, Ren was the only male in a group of boys and Nora was the only girl (albeit the leader) of a group of boys, so maybe she could relate to them.

What she saw unnerved her.

As it turned out, there had been an attack on a crowd of Faunus yesterday night. Somebody had killed them all, including the Faunus that was speaking out to them. And to think that it was a peaceful protest too. What was the world of Remnant coming to? It seemed things had gotten rather bloody.

Blake wondered who could had done such a thing. It always made her feel rather depressed whenever the Faunus fell victim to violence...though admittedly the White Fang itself tended to resort to violence.

Though admittedly Weiss wasn't fond of Faunus herself, she found it to be disturbing as well. She wondered who could have hated Faunus so much that it drove them to violence.

Apparently, it was the work of the Black Hand...a group that Blake was rather afraid of. Rumor has it that their leader wanted to exterminate all Faunus...including her. On the other hand, most of the other members were simply fighting against White Fang aggression.

If they managed to find where the White Fang were hiding, things could get rather bloody.

She decided to turn off the TV. The idea of someone hunting Faunus like animals unnerved her...even if they were in a sense animals.

Well, it was no use thinking about that now. It was time for her to take her first-year test...she couldn't afford to be distracted.

Still, she hoped that the rest of the Faunus were going to be alright. The White Fang would keep them safe...right?

Sure enough, Team NRDS were heading to Forever Fall as well. Nora could not wait to try out the red sap. She bet that it tasted delicious...though her appetite would probably prove detrimental to her teammates.

For this test, Ms. Goodwitch was going to supervise, as they said.

"This test is going to be rather simple...much like the one that we had in Emerald Forest. However, keep in mind that the Grimm here are a bit tougher than the variety that you might find in Emerald Forest." remarked Ms. Goodwitch.

Ruby and Juane noted that they should probably be on their guard.

Likewise, Weiss and Blake acknowledged the same.

"In other words, I recommend you all to stay together..." answered Ms. Goodwitch. Strength in numbers, Professor Ozpin always said.

Everyone in the crowd nodded, except for Cardin. Yang quickly noticed this. Why exactly did Cardin not want to stick with his teammates?

"Right then...each of you get your own jars. All you need to do was fill them up with red sap and make your way back to Beacon Academy. It's a rather simple test...in fact, you don't need to walk rather far..." stated the teacher.

Sure enough, there were trees nearby that were full of red sap.

"I think you're all ready. Here are your jars." said Ms. Goodwitch.

Using her telekinesis, she handed each team various jars for containing the red sap in. On the jars were a label warning them that red sap could potentially attract Grimm and that they should keep it in an air-tight container.

Shortly afterwards, each team went into the forest to retrieve the red sap.

However, Cardin had a different idea in mind regarding the sap.

And he knew who he wanted to be his accomplice.

As Ruby and Juane went to collect the sap, Yang attempted to follow them to make sure that they stayed safe. She didn't exactly like it whenever her sister ended up in peril...especially when they went into Grimm territory as children.

But when she tried to do so, Cardin grabbed her arm.

"Hey!" exclaimed Yang.

"Psst! Yang!" whispered Cardin into her ear.

"Huh?" questioned the blonde boxer.

As it turned out, Cardin wanted Yang's help with something. Something bad.

"What do you want, Cardin? We need to stick together as a team! If we split up, we could be in danger!" exclaimed Yang. Ms. Goodwitch warned them that there were Grimm in the area.

"Relax, we're not going to be separate for long...we're just going to pull a prank on Juane and that'll be it." answered Cardin.

"What kind of prank?" questioned the blonde. Juane certainly was a bully magnet...just like Pyrrha was a people magnet. Now that she thought of it...wasn't Pyrrha's semblance magnetism? Semblances did tend to reflect the wielder's personality. For example, her semblance reflected her short-temperedness...just like Cardin's semblance reflected his desire to be strong.

"Oh, that's rather simple." nodded the bully.

Immediately, Cardin gathered some red sap into a jar.

"We're going to dump this all over Juane! It's going to be hilarious!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Why do you need my help though?" questioned Yang. It seemed like something that Cardin could do himself...though she did hear that Cardin was a slacker and would rather rely on his teammates rather than do something himself.

"Well, for some strange reason, he seems to be become aware when I'm nearby. I don't know why..." stated the bully. Perhaps he had been bullying him too much.

Sure enough, Juane seemed to be looking around in the distance.

"Cardin, where are you?" questioned Juane. He knew that he was nearby, but he wasn't quite sure where.

"See my point?" inquired Cardin. Personally he was a bit surprised that Juane was looking for him. It was as if he was looking for trouble.

"Oh..." said the blonde. Apparently, he had adapted to deal with the bullies around him.

Now that she thought of it, Ruby seemed to be looking for her too. Perhaps she should reunite with them. She wasn't used to not working with a team, even if she still had her partner at her side. Besides, Juane wasn't very good at fighting yet.

"That's why you're going to dump red sap over him and make him look like a fool!" exclaimed Cardin. He was sure that his friends on Team NRDS would be laughing about it...

"Sorry, Cardin...I can't do that." apologized Yang.

"What? Why not?" asked the bully.

"He's supposed to be our teammate...if we do that, you'll alienate him from us!" bellowed the blonde. If they didn't work together, it was only a matter of time before they started running into trouble.

Cardin sighed. Yang did have a point. He sure as heck would have liked to bully Juane though.

"Fine..." stated the bully.

"Besides, we might end up attracting Grimm...speaking of which, you should put a lid on that red sap before any of the Grimm smell it..." said the boxer.

"Yeah, right. What are the chances of that?" inquired Cardin.

At that very moment, an Ursa Major showed up. It wanted some of the delicious red sap that was growing from the trees...though technically it could simply climb up the tree and take it for itself.

Maybe those nice humans would let it have some...though it would probably have to kill them first.

Worked for it.

"Pretty good, actually." answered Yang.

Cardin's hand trembled and his eye widened. He wasn't sure how he was going to take down an Ursa that big, even if he had killed Grimm during the Emerald Forest exam. It didn't seem like a young Grimm at all...those that he were used to fighting.

For a moment, he considered running...which he ultimately decided to try. Better to live to see another day.

However, when he attempted to do so, Yang stopped him. Hunters were supposed to protect the populace from the Grimm, not join the crowd that always runs away from them. What would they think if Cardin deserted the battlefield?

"C'mon, Cardin! You can take that thing down!" exclaimed Yang. She knew how strong he was.

Reluctantly, Cardin hit the Ursa Major on the head with his mace as Yang demanded of him.

Oddly enough, this worked surprisingly well. It looked like he had managed to wound it, judging from the black blood leaking from its head.

Perhaps Yang was right after all. Maybe he should have tried fighting the Grimm before retreating. Now there was one less Grimm in the world...though it seemed likely that there were millions more out there somewhere.

Yang then finished it off with a few rounds from her Ember Celica.

"Alright!" cheered the blonde.

Now, all they needed to do was avoid attracting more Grimm and then they would be safe.

However, at that very moment, Ruby and Juane showed up. They had been searching for Yang and Cardin once they had realized that they had been separated.

"Yang!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Cardin!" bellowed Jaune.

"Is something the matter?" asked Cardin.

"We were worried about you!" bellowed the huntress.

"Don't worry, sis, you're fine..." answered Yang.

Ruby gave her older half-sister a hug.

Wait...didn't fear attract Grimm too?

Perhaps they should have stuck together as Yang suggested.

At that very moment, another Grimm showed up.

This time, it was a Woodchuck...a Grimm that resembled a beaver...a vicious beaver, that is. The older ones had a tendency to destroy dams...and cause flooding. Needless to say hunters and huntresses were responsible for keeping that from happening.

Immediately, the Woodchuck began to chew down the trees, hoping one of them would fall on top of the four.

"Look out!" exclaimed Ruby. Who would have thought that Grimm liked to chew through wood?

Fortunately, the trees did not hit anybody. Maybe the Woodchuck needed to work on its aim.

Not only that, but Jaune stabbed the Woodchuck with his sword, killing it.

"Got it!" bellowed the Arc family member.

However, they were starting to wonder if any of the other students were attracting Grimm. If so, they might be in trouble.

They decided to pay Team NRDS a visit to see if they were alright.

Currently, Russel was fighting with Nora over a jar of red sap. Russel wanted to deliver it to Beacon Academy. Nora wanted to consume it because it was so delicious.

This worried Ruby. If they dropped the jar on the floor, chances are they were going to be upset...which would attract more Grimm.

Sure enough, that ended up happening.

Nora ended up crying.

"Wahhhhh!" exclaimed Nora. This was so unfair!

Russel tried to comfort her, curiously enough. She had saved his life before.

Shortly afterward, Team NRDS noticed that the trees were starting to...move.

As it turned out, some of these trees were actually...Grimm. Nora's crying had managed to wake them up.

They were known as the Treants...and yes, they did resemble trees...dead ones.

"What the heck?!" bellowed Russel. Perhaps it would be best if they examined the trees before attempting to take red sap from them. The Grimm could be hiding anywhere.

Fortunately for Nora, her hammer could smash through their bark-like armor like it was butter.

As with all the other Grimm, the Treants burst into darkness once Nora killed them. It looked like they wouldn't be able to make paper off of them.

"I should become a lumberjack." remarked Nora.

"Maybe you should..." nodded Russel.

"Can we get the sap already?" questioned Dove.

Fortunately, Sky and Dove already had theirs. Once Russel and Nora were done, they would be free to return to Ms. Goodwitch.

Wait, where was she anyway? She never mentioned where to meet her.

As it turned out, Pyrrha, Weiss, Blake, and Ren had already managed to collect theirs.

Well, technically Pyrrha had done most of the work. Her magnetism really came in handy.

Unfortunately, this made Dove and Sky rather jealous. Why couldn't they have such a useful semblance like that?

Their envy ended up attracting more Grimm. Envy was one of the seven deadly sins...and it was certainly deadly in the world of Remnant.

In this case, it was a Death Stalker.

"Not another one of these!" remarked Dove. It was a bad idea they encountered one of these back when they were taking their Emerald Forest test.

And to make matters worse, two Boarbatusks were backing it up.

Immediately, the Death Stalker attempted to sting them with its tail.

Dove and Sky began to run, screaming all the while.

However, they forgot that screaming when there was Grimm around wasn't such a good idea. They weren't exactly deaf.

They quickly found themselves being cornered by a King Taijutu. Apparently, they didn't only live in Emerald Forest.

"We could really use some help here..." remarked Sky.

Fortunately, at that very moment, Weiss and Ren showed up.

Weiss used her dust to freeze the King Taijutu solid while Ren shot the Taijutu to death. They were getting better at this...though of course it helped that they were working as a team.

However, there was still the not-so-small matter of the Death Stalkers and the two Boarbatusks that were heading towards them as well.

Fortunately, Pyrrha and Blake decided to intervene.

Wasting no time, Pyrrha used her magnetism to send her spear into the Death Stalker's head...and then send it back to her hand.

Blake followed by using her Gambol Shroud to knock over the Boarbatusks, who began struggling to get up.

Pyrrha followed by using her spear to stab both of them in the stomach, using her magnetism to assist in that. Both Boarbatusks died.

Now, all that was left was the Death Stalker.

Unfortunately, it appeared that the Death Stalker was none too happy that the hunters and huntresses had killed its comrades, as it began to lunge towards them.

In the process, Jaune almost got stung.

"Aah!" bellowed Jaune.

Once again, Jaune screamed like a little girl. Cardin found it to be a hoot.

However, Ruby was not amused that the Death Stalker was trying to hurt her friend.

"Leave him alone!" bellowed Ruby.

Immediately, she shot the Death Stalker's stinger.

The Death Stalker panicked and attempted to flee...

...which allowed Cardin to finish it off.

"Yes!" exclaimed Cardin.

"Is that it for all the Grimm?" inquired Yang.

"I think so..." nodded Ruby.

"Let's try not to attract any more Grimm, shall we?" suggested Ren.

Blake nodded.

Suddenly, a marching band came by.

"Huh?" asked Ruby.

"What are they doing in this forest?" inquired Blake.

As it turned out, they were playing the Moonlight Sonata.

"Oh heck no..." remarked Weiss.

All of a sudden, they all started to feel rather depressed.

"This cannot be good." said Jaune.

A few seconds later, they heard the sound of screeching. It sounded similar to that of the Nevermore, yet fiercer.

The hunters and huntresses decided to look out.

They gasped in shock.

As it turned out, it was a Phoenix...a flying Grimm that could shoot fireballs. And it was a big one too. Who would have thought THAT would show up?

Already, it was raining fireballs on top of them.

"Run for it!" bellowed Ruby.

"Easy for you to say." remarked Weiss.

Frantically, they scattered about so that the Phoenix would have a harder time hitting them. They wondered who it would strike next.

As it turned out, it knew what the weakest target.

That target was Jaune.

Immediately, it picked up Jaune by the shoulders and started carrying him around.

"Aah!" screamed Jaune.

"Jaune!" bellowed Ruby.

"We'll get him down!" exclaimed Yang.

Immediately, Yang began to shoot at the Phoenix.

Unfortunately, it appeared that fire didn't do much damage to the Phoenix at all...unsurprisingly.

"Anyone else want to try?" asked Yang sheepishly.

Weiss tried attacking the Phoenix next...but unfortunately, her ice dust was melting.

"I'm done." stated Weiss.

Pyrrha hurled her spear at the Phoenix with her magnetism.

The Phoenix screeched and dropped Jaune. That was a lucky shot.

"We got him! But where is he landing?" questioned Nora.

Jaune landed on top of Ruby, causing her to blush.

"You alright, Ruby?" asked Juane as he helped himself and Ruby to their feet.

"Yeah, I think so..." nodded Ruby. She had survived worse than that before.

Unfortunately, the Phoenix was launching another attack.

However, Ruby was shooting bullets at it.

"Eat bottomless magazines!" bellowed Ruby.

"This magazine is really nice..." remarked Blake as she read through it.

The Phoenix screeched once again, and shot fireballs at Ruby.

However, she was fast enough to avoid them.

Ren started shooting the Phoenix as well.

Even so, it appeared that it was still itching for a fight.

Immediately, it flapped its wings together, creating a black tornado.

"Why is it trying to send us to the Land Of Oz? We're being taught by Professor Ozpin for crying out loud!" exclaimed Russel.

The Phoenix shrugged.

"Incoming!" warned Ruby.

Frantically, they attempted to avoid being hit by the winds.

To make matters worse, some small Nevermores had decided to join the fray. Perhaps they had noticed that there was a big bird of prey in the sky, even if it technically wasn't a Nevermore itself.

Fortunately, Ruby shot them down.

"No! I'm a bird murderer! Again!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Did you forget your hunting license?" asked Jaune.

"Oh, that's right. I do have a hunting license..." remarked the huntress. She wouldn't be a hunter without one.

Angry at Ruby for being a thorn in its side, the Phoenix launched fireballs at Ruby.

However, Jaune blocked them with his shield.

"Maybe you should try defending..." suggested Ruby.

Jaune nodded. It was a good thing that his shield could resist fire.

Once again, the Phoenix decided to charge towards the hunters and huntresses.

However, it ended up hitting one of Blake's clones. Specifically, an Earth Clone.

It ended up collapsing on the ground.

"Once again the birds have fallen victims to the cats." remarked Blake.

She then started slashing into the Phoenix with her Gambol Shroud, wounding the Phoenix.

She then finished it off by slicing off its head.

"I feel a strange sense of deja vu..." remarked Ruby.

However, as the Phoenix burst into ashes, it left behind an egg.

"Huh?" asked the huntress.

Suddenly, the egg began to hatch.

As it turned out, it had hatched into a baby Phoenix.

Immediately, it lunged towards Blake.

"What?!" exclaimed Blake.

However, it was suddenly hit by Ms. Goodwitch's telekinetic powers, who slammed it into a nearby tree, killing the Phoenix once and for all.

"I was not expecting a Grimm of that caliber to show up..." remarked Ms. Goodwitch. Phoenixes were more dangerous than the comparatively plain Nevermores, that was for certain.

Fortunately, it took years for a Phoenix to gain the ability to lay eggs that would hatch into more Grimm (such as when it perished), so it looked like they were safe for the time being.

"I wonder how we attracted so many Grimm...it seemed like a snowball going downhill..." remarked Weiss.

"Unfortunately, that's how Grimm outbreaks tend to worsen..." noted Ms. Goodwitch. The more the Grimm attacked, the more people got depressed and the more powerful and more numerous the Grimm became.

"At least they appear to be all gone now..." noted Pyrrha.

"Yeah...we probably won't have to worry about them for a while..." nodded Blake.

"Yes...I think you've all done well during the test...consider yourself all passed." answered the teacher.

"Yes! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" exclaimed Ruby.

"I had a feeling we could do it." smiled Ren.

"Yay! We did it!" cheered Nora.

"All in a day's work." stated Pyrrha. Apparently, it was destiny.

Now that they were done for the test, the students decided to return to Beacon Academy.

They all felt more experienced after that encounter with the Grimm. Hopefully they could put it to good use in the future...even if they weren't as experienced as the second-years.

It appeared that the more they ventured outside Beacon Academy, the more varieties of Grimm that they encountered.

Fortunately, it appeared that as long as they worked together, they could take them on.

But of course, they would be facing more than just Grimm in the near future.

 _Meanwhile..._

"Status report." stated Adam Taurus.

"There's been a hit on a crowd of Faunus...there were no survivors..." answered a member of the White Fang.

"Damn it!" exclaimed the leader of the White Fang. It must have been the work of the Black Hand. Perhaps Blake did make a point about trying to solve problems peacefully...now they had to deal with the Black Hand who wanted to counteract their efforts.

Immediately, he pulled out his scroll. He was going to let the Black Hand know that he was NOT going to stand for this.

He decided to give a comrade of his a scroll call. He would be interested in the task that he was giving him.

At that very moment, Adam Taurus's enforcer showed up...Greyclaw. As one might expect from a Faunus of that name, he somewhat resembled a wolf. Specifically, he had grey hair, wolf ears, and fangs in his mouth. Also, he had a grey tail and had black eyes. He was also dressed in a gray White Fang outfit...hence the name.

"You rang?" asked Greyclaw.

"Why don't you go and pay our friends "The Black Hand" a visit, will you? They've got hell to pay..." remarked Adam Taurus. Apparently, they thought that they could simply kill innocent Faunus and get away with it.

Greyclaw nodded. He just loved inflicting violence on humans...and the Black Hand were no exception. Personally he thought that they were the worst humans of all.

Immediately, he went to hunt down the Black Hand and teach them a lesson about respecting other races.

"If only Blake was here to see this..." remarked Adam Taurus. He and his group had really been flourishing ever since they had allied with Cinder...though he wasn't too fond of humans after all the mistreatment he and the Faunus had suffered at their hands.

Of course, she had stated that violence was not the answer and that they should resort to peaceful solutions instead. Well, that was what the crowd that had been murdered had tried...it hadn't turned out too well. They should not have attracted the Black Hand's attention.

Maybe if he managed to take down the Black Hand, maybe then people would treat him with respect. It was just a theory.

 _That was an exciting chapter, wasn't it? It was like dominoes falling down after one another. It was a good thing Ms. Goodwitch_ _showed up when she did. Sometimes Grimm outbreaks can really get out of control. It's a good thing we have Beacon Academy._

 _The next chapter is going to be based on RWBY Chibi._


	15. Chapter 15: RWBY Chibi

_In this chapter, I'm going to make a chapter based on RWBY Chibi. Sound like fun? I figured that since it came out recently I figured why not._

 _Of course, you're probably wondering how I'm going to incorporate a RWBY Chibi Chapter in a regular RWBY fanfic...RWBY Chibi probably isn't in the same universe as the regular RWBY._

 _As you probably know, RWBY Chibi episodes come out every Saturday, which contain several shorts. So it's something you can look forward to on the weekends._

 _As of late, they've started featuring the rest of Team JNPR instead of simply Jaune. Isn't that nice? Maybe they figured that they should write for more characters that Team RWBY and Jaune._

 _Anyways, I thought of something._

 **Chapter 15: RWBY Chibi**

Cardin, Yang, and Jaune were all rather bored. It seemed like there was nothing to do ever since they had gone to Forever Fall. They had the occasional test, but other than that it was boring. At this rate they would all end up falling asleep in class...and Doctor Oobleck would have to use his coffee in order to wake them all up. Cardin didn't even like coffee.

They wished that there would be another field trip soon. That way they could finally do something fun. Maybe they would be sent to slay a giant Grimm together? Of course, that would be a cakewalk for the second-years. It was too bad that they weren't nearly as strong as Coco and her teammates. All the more reason to keep studying, right?

On the lighter side, apparently they were setting up a tournament. Cardin and Yang were both looking forward to showing off their skills. However, Jaune got the feeling that he wouldn't do so well in the tournament.

At that very moment, Ruby showed up. She was carrying some mysterious vials containing green liquid. Yang, Cardin, and Jaune immediately began to look at her.

"Hello!" exclaimed Ruby.

Yang noted that seemed rather excited about something, like the time that she challenged her to a race.

 _At a race track..._

"3, 2, 1, go!" exclaimed Jaune.

At that very moment, Ruby sped across the race track and made it to the finish line before Yang could even take her first step.

"Whoa!" bellowed Yang.

"Yeah! I won!" exclaimed Ruby. She knew that she could win.

Immediately, she leapt several times in the air.

"Why did I challenge Ruby to a race again?" asked Yang. It didn't seem too smart. She would have better luck racing someone who was driving a race car.

"Hey, Yang! I won another racing trophy!" bellowed the brunette.

Immediately, she pulled out a golden trophy with the words "1st Place" engraved on it.

"Good. Hang it up on your shelf..." answered Ruby's older sister.

"Um, I just ran out of room. Can I use yours?" asked Ruby.

Yang groaned.

 _End of flashback..._

Somehow, Jaune got the feeling that it wasn't lime juice. Where did she even get those? He sure hoped that she wasn't trying to poison them so that she could be the sole star of the fanfic.

"Hey, Ruby. What are those?" questioned Yang.

"I got them from Dr. Oobleck. He said that they alter people's perception of things..." explained Ruby. Was Dr. Oobleck some sort of mad scientist? That WOULD explain the glasses and the lab coat. Did he even go to medical school?

"Really?" questioned Jaune. He wondered why he had given Ruby those. Then again, she seemed to be doing rather well at school despite Weiss being fed up with her immaturity.

"Yeah...you want to try them out?" questioned the girl. It might be rather fun.

"Sure." nodded Yang. Surely those weren't toxic chemicals...right? Since when was Dr. Oobleck trying to kill them?

On the other hand, Dr. Oobleck was probably a mad scientist that one might find in horror movies.

Immediately, the four of them began to gulp down the potions. They tasted like cotton candy.

"So, what do you think is going to happen?" questioned Ruby.

"Beats me..." answered Yang.

Suddenly, they noticed that everything seemed...strange. Something had...changed.

"What's going on?" inquired the girl. For some strange reason, they all seemed rather deformed.

Adding to that, they were all rather cute. Even Cardin had been chibified.

"I think those potions did something strange..." stated Jaune. He wasn't feeling exactly like himself. In fact, he was starting to feel like a different person entirely.

"This sucks! I can't bully people like this at all!" exclaimed Cardin. What is he going to do? Smile at his victims until they run away crying?

"How did our eyes get so big?" questioned Yang. Everything seemed so much clearer all of a sudden.

"How did our bodies get so small?" inquired Ruby. Their heads were huge! Had all their blood rushed to their heads or something? Ruby did like being upside down sometimes.

"This is creepy beyond all levels." noted Cardin.

"How long does the potion say until it wears off?" questioned Jaune. The potions weren't permanent, right?

Ruby decided to check the label.

"It should wear off in...24 hours." stated Ruby.

"Twenty-four hours?!" exclaimed Cardin. He wasn't sure if he could tolerate one.

"Are there any other side effects we should be aware about?" asked Jaune. Perhaps they should be more hesitant to drink it.

Ruby checked the label again.

"It says here that while we're under the effects of the potion, we'll want to do things that are really goofy." stated the girl. She wondered if clowns ever tried ingesting this.

"Like...what?" inquired Yang.

At that very moment, Weiss began to walk down the hall.

"Nothing like a good ice cream cone to start the day with." remarked Weiss.

Seizing his opportunity, Jaune decided to pull out a guitar and play her a song. Of course, it was a love song.

"Maybe that's it?" inquired Ruby.

"Weiss, your hair is white as a snow, I'm going to present you a show!" exclaimed Jaune.

"Excuse me?" asked Weiss. It looked like Jaune was trying to flirt with her again. She had lost count on how many times Jaune had tried that. Perhaps she should try slapping him with a restraining order...or in the face?

"Weiss, your semblance is ice, I think you're really nice!" sang the blonde.

"A lot of people don't think I'm nice, actually." answered the ice queen. She knew that Ruby thought that she was rather mean.

"Weiss Schnee, will you be with me?" questioned Jaune.

"Sorry. no." said Weiss. Personally she thought that he and Ruby would make a better couple...even if they were two years apart unlike everyone else at the academy.

Jaune began to cry waterfalls. Was he doomed to be single forever?

"Wow...I didn't know that you could cry that much..." stated the ice huntress. Did Jaune have a water semblance? She had never gotten to see it.

A nearby janitor put a Wet Floor sign on the floor. He didn't want any accidents...of course, the person who had the most accidents in Beacon Academy WAS the reason why there was a puddle on the floor in the first place.

"Well, Jaune sure is acting strange..." remarked Ruby. Perhaps this was the side-effects that Professor Oobleck had informed them of.

"I think it's only a matter of time before the serum starts affecting the rest of us..." noted Yang. Perhaps it depended on the person as to how fast it began to work its magic.

Today was going to be really weird, she knew that at least.

A few hours later, Yang decided to do something fun. She and Ruby were standing right outside a gas station.

"I'm going to set fire to the gas station!" exclaimed Yang.

Immediately, she began to laugh maniacally.

Ruby's eyes widened in shock and her heart sank.

"Yang, no!" warned Ruby.

This was not going to end well.

Immediately, she used her Ember Cecila to fire at the gas station.

Unsurprisingly, it exploded.

In the process, Qrow's car exploded as well. He was waiting for his car to finish loading up with gas.

"Not my car! I need that to attract the ladies!" exclaimed Qrow. Winter Schnee was going to think that he was a total loser!

Oh wait, she already thought that he was a total loser. He wasn't having much luck getting the ladies.

"Poor Uncle Qrow..." stated Ruby.

Maybe Yang should apologize to him.

 _An hour later..._

Inside her room, Ruby was looking for something that was absolutely precious. She simply couldn't live without them.

"Where are my cookies?" asked Ruby.

Ruby checked underneath Yang's bed.

There wasn't even a crumb.

"Where are my cookies?" questioned the girl in red.

Ruby checked underneath the flower pot.

There was no sign of them.

"Where are my cookies?" asked Ruby.

Jaune screamed like a little girl. As it turned out, Ruby had visited him while he was in the middle of taking a shower.

"I haven't...seen them." answered the blonde.

"OK!" exclaimed Ruby, dashing out of the bathroom.

"Did Ruby want to see my sexy body?" thought Jaune.

"Where are my cookies?" inquired the huntress.

"Beats me." shrugged Yang.

"Where are my cookies?" questioned Ruby.

"Do I look like I know?" inquired Cardin.

"Where on earth are my cookies?!" exclaimed the huntress.

Finally, Ruby found her cookies...they were on her bed.

"There they are!" exclaimed the brunette. Why didn't she check there sooner?

However, when she opened the cookie jar, she found that it was empty.

As soon as she discovered that someone had devoured her cookies without her permission, she became furious.

"Who ate all the cookies?!" screeched the hungry huntress at the top of her lungs. She wanted to know.

"I did!" shouted Nora.

Ruby was not happy with Nora. At all.

"You're going to pay!" exclaimed Ruby as she pulled out her scythe and lunged towards Nora.

"Aah!" screamed Nora as she ran away from Ruby.

 _A few minutes later..._

"Pyrrha, can you demonstrate your magnetism?" asked Jaune.

"Sure, Jaune." nodded Pyrrha.

Pyrrha activated her semblance.

Suddenly, several knives, forks, and spoons were sent flying towards Jaune.

"Wah!" bellowed Jaune. Quickly, he used his shield to protect himself from the flying objects.

A few seconds later, a safe nearly fell on top of him.

"Mama!" screamed the blonde.

Finally, a gun nearly shot him.

"Whoa!" exclaimed the hunter. Why was that gun loaded?

Immediately, he ran away screaming.

"Jaune? What's the matter?" asked Ruby.

"Pyrrha's trying to kill me! She's a psycho!" bellowed Jaune. His face was as pale as Weiss's hair. His teeth was chattering.

"Try hitting her in the heel! I bet that's her weak spot!" suggested Ruby.

Jaune started tickling Pyrrha's feet to see if that would do the trick.

"Hahahahaha!" laughed Pyrrha.

"That's not quite what i had in mind, but whatever works, I guess." stated the huntress.

 _24 hours later..._

Eventually, the chemical wore off, causing Ruby, Jaune, Yang, and Cardin to stop hallucinating.

"That was a really weird experience." noted Ruby.

"Should we try it again?" inquired Jaune.

"Maybe. It was rather fun." answered Yang. It would depend on whether Professor Oobleck would be supplying with them with more chemicals or not.

Either way, perhaps it was time to get back to their jobs as huntresses instead of simply being silly.

"We might want to do it later though...it's getting rather late." spoke the huntress.

"Right..." nodded Cardin.

"Should we tell Professor Oobleck about the results of the experiment?" inquired Ruby.

"You do that, Ruby." answered Jaune.

Ruby sped towards Professor Oobleck.

She came back a few seconds later.

"So, what did he say?" inquired Yang.

"He said that he intended to use the potion as a stress reliever...so it was a success!" exclaimed Ruby.

"Awesome!" bellowed the blonde.

"I do not want to be cute ever again." complained Cardin.

Suddenly, Yang noticed that somebody was placing a poster.

"Huh?" asked Yang.

Apparently, there was a tournament coming up. It was known as the Vytal Festival.

As soon as she saw the poster, she got rather excited.

"Did you hear the news?" asked the now energetic Yang.

"What news?" inquired Ruby.

Cardin decided to pull out a newspaper.

"The Vytal Festival is coming up!" exclaimed the blonde girl.

"Awesome!" bellowed Ruby.

"Finally we can do something...though I doubt I'm going to do well." answered Jaune.

"You got that right." nodded Cardin, punching Jaune in the elbow.

"Ow." murmured the blonde boy.

"What are we sitting around here for then? We've got to get ready for the tournament!" exclaimed Ruby.

"You betcha, sis!" bellowed Yang.

Immediately, Jaune, Cardin, Yang, and Ruby went outside so that they could practice for the tournament.

They were going to have some fun after all.

 _That was an interesting chapter, wasn't it? I figure I would include a chapter that referenced RWBY Chibi since it's a spinoff of the actual series. And yes, you probably won't expect Cardin to try drinking the chibi potion ever again. But you never know. Chances are he might appear in an episode of RWBY Chibi someday. I know that they decided to add the rest of Team JNPR to the show since they apparently didn't feel like using a minimalist cast so yeah._

 _If you wanted something more plot-focused, maybe you'll want to try reading the next chapter. Of course, it's more serious too since plot-focused episodes i are always more serious._

 _Also, a certain robot is going to appear in the fanfic soon. Guess which one?_

 _See you!_


	16. Chapter 16: Goodbye Kitty

_In this chapter, Blake is going to leave Team PWBR! And strangely enough PWR (which of course is PWBR without a B for Blake since she's vanished like a ball of yarn in the wind) is still pronounced "Power". And Ren is going to leave too. Now it's just PW...which is still pronounced "Pow". Weird._

 _It looks like Blake and Ren have run away together...and it appears that Ren actually LIKES Blake's cat ears...how about that?_

 **Chapter 16: Goodbye Kitty**

In Team PWBR's room, the three huntresses and one hunter were plotting how to spend their day. They already knew that Team RWBY were getting ready for the Vytal Festival, so it wouldn't be a bad idea for them to get ready as well.

Of course, since Pyrrha was on their team, maybe they DIDN'T need to get ready. She had already won several trophies by herself.

Fortunately, Weiss had a plan.

"Everyone, I have an idea! Why don't we visit the docks?" asked Weiss.

"The docks? Are we going fishing?" inquired Blake. She would love to eat some fish, especially fish that was cooked in an oven so that she didn't have to eat it raw. She never recalled Weiss to be a fisherman though.

"No, silly. We're going to go see some hunters and huntresses from Vacuo!" exclaimed the huntress.

"Oh...so we're going to be visiting people from other kingdoms then?" questioned Pyrrha. That seemed appropriate since she wasn't originally from Vale. Neither was Weiss.

"See? Pyrrha gets it!" shouted Weiss.

"Alright, but I think Nora wants to visit me today." answered Ren. She would be very disappointed if she found out that he wasn't there. They seemed to do everything together, even when they went to Beacon Academy.

"Does she want you to eat pancakes?" asked Blake. If so, she knew where she could get some maple syrup.

"She sure does." nodded the teenage boy. Her idea of Heaven would probably involving being in a land full of pancakes...though he supposed that maybe it would involve other breakfast foods as well.

"I suppose I might have time. I can use my scroll to talk to her if she wonders where I am." On the other hand, Nora might give him half a dozen scroll calls in a short period of time.

"Good idea." nodded Blake.

Immediately, the four of them set out to head to the docks.

On the way there, they noticed something alarming.

Apparently, a local dust store had been robbed. Someone had a craving for dust it seemed.

Speaking of which, Weiss heard that too much dust made Ruby sneeze. Was she allergic?

Unfortunately, they did have a video featuring who had robbed the dust store. However, according to some witnesses, the White Fang were responsible for it.

"The White Fang? Ugh, I hate them so much..." answered Weiss.

"You know what the sad part of it is? They weren't always evil." said Blake.

"They weren't?" asked the white-haired girl.

"Yeah...they got fed up with the way humans were treating them and decided to fight back..." answered the huntress.

"My parents' company have been locked in war with them for years..." remarked Weiss.

"You have?" asked Blake.

"Yeah...I'm starting to see why the Black Hand want to get rid of them..." answered the ice huntress. If White Fang were gone, the humans would be able to live in peace, right?

Ren noticed that Blake's eyes widened when Weiss mentioned the Black Hand.

"Wait, who are the Black Hand?" questioned Ren.

"They're an organization that kill Faunus...apparently they're racist towards them. I think it's more likely that they would wish to protect humans from Faunus aggression however." answered Pyrrha.

"That makes sense..." nodded Weiss.

"The Black Hand make me sick..." remarked Blake, who was feeling woozy.

"They do sound rather awful." answered Ren. Who would want to spill the blood of the innocent like that so badly? Sure, he could understand why someone would want to do something about the White Fang...but it seemed that some of the higher-ups amongst the Black Hand were killing completely innocent Faunus as well as the guilty ones. What had gotten into them?

"Maybe the Faunus brought it on themselves. They shouldn't have resorted to violence to solve their problems." questioned the ice huntress.

Curious, Ren noticed that Blake seemed to be glaring at Weiss as soon as she said that. Why was she though?

Suddenly, Pyrrha noticed a Faunus stealing from a banana stall.

"That Faunus is driving me bananas!" bellowed the stall owner. This wasn't the first time that he had been robbed...and it wouldn't be the last unless someone finally caught him.

The other stall owners began to laugh at him.

"What? What's so funny?" asked the man.

Pyrrha decided that she should do something about him.

Immediately, she noticed Sun making a run for it.

She began to chase after him.

Quickly, she used her magnetism to throw metal objects at Sun.

"What the-" exclaimed Sun.

Frantically, he began to avoid them. He wouldn't want to get whacked on the head with a frying pan.

"Why are those objects so attracted to me? Well, I know that ladies are attracted to me..." noted Sun.

Fortunately, since he was agile as...well, a monkey, he was able to avoid them all.

"He's fast...I think I better pick up the pace." noted Pyrrha.

Immediately, she began to run faster.

Quickly, Sun noticed that she was gaining up on him. If he didn't do something, he was going to get caught.

"She's quick! How am I going to outrun her?" thought Sun.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was a rather large tree up ahead. Not only that, but there were bananas on it. Sweet, delicious bananas.

"Oh, that's right. I'm a monkey Faunus so climbing up trees should be second nature to me." remarked the teenager.

Immediately, he grabbed onto the tree and began to climb up it. Maybe his pursuer couldn't climb trees. Of course, she would probably sit on a chair and watch TV until he became down...but he could probably toss coconuts at her until she left or something.

However, he realized that something was stopping him as soon as he started climbing up the tree.

"What the-" exclaimed Sun. Why wasn't he moving?

He looked down, and discovered that Pyrrha had grabbed onto his tail.

"You grabbed onto my tail? That's rather impressive." noted Sun. He wondered why whenever he challenged an opponent to a duel that they never thought about doing that.

"You really shouldn't steal from the populace." answered Pyrrha.

"It's kind of hard to get a job when you're a Faunus." explained the monkey Faunus.

"Well, you've a good point, but this is kind of...monkey business." stated the magnetic heroine.

"Monkey business? I see what you did there." said Sun.

Suddenly, he realized who she was talking to.

"Hey, you're Pyrrha! I've heard that you've won lots of championships!" exclaimed the monkey Faunus.

"I sure have...I wonder what my next trophy will be." questioned Pyrrha.

"Are you going to compete in the Vytal Tournament?" asked Sun. Personally he got the feeling that Pyrrha would be able to win that tournament just like the other tournaments that she had won.

"Of course I am! My teammates are coming with me too..." noted the huntress. She in fact wasn't used to being part of a team before, but she figured that it would be enjoyable. Besides, she was the one in charge since she was the strongest and rather smart.

"Well, so are my teammates." answered the monkey Faunus. For some strange reason, his teammates were all guys. He wasn't quite sure why.

Meanwhile, Ruby, Yang, Cardin, and Jaune were doing some sightseeing as well.

"I can't wait for the Vytal Tournament. I'll get to pound some heads in." stated Cardin.

"You better pay attention to the rules, Cardin! You don't want to get us kicked out!" warned Ruby. If they got kicked out of the tournament, everyone would most likely be disappointed with them...and she didn't want that.

"Whatever." answered the bully.

"I'm actually looking forward to the Vytal Tournament too. I'm hoping that during one of my battles my theme song will play...though I suppose that they might use a musical instrument instead of singing it out loud." suggested Yang.

"Do I have a theme song?" asked Jaune.

"Nope, it's just me and Yang." answered Ruby.

"Awww..." complained the blonde. Why couldn't he catch a break?

"Anyways, since I'm in charge you better do what I say during the tournament!" advised the teenage girl. Otherwise her team would get in trouble.

"And I'm second-in-command!" bellowed Jaune.

Yang bumped Jaune in the elbow with her fist, causing him to rub it.

Elsewhere, Nora, Russel, Dove, and Sky were downtown as well. Russel and his friends had wanted to get some comic books...but since Nora was the leader she insisted that they should get some pancakes.

"Yum! Those were some delicious pancakes!" exclaimed Nora. She had eaten quite a few of them.

"Was it worth coming here on the way to the comic book store?" asked Russel.

"Totally!" bellowed the teenage girl.

However, as they were leaving the pancakeria, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, Nora bumped into someone.

"Oof!" exclaimed Nora.

"You alright?" asked the girl who she had bumped into. Apparently, they both needed to watch where they were going.

For some strange reason, something about her seemed off. She didn't seem quite...human.

"I think so...do I know you?" inquired the teenage girl.

"My name is Penny! Pleased to meet you!" exclaimed the bizarre girl.

"Hmm, I think Nora might have found her match." remarked Russel.

Dove and Sky nodded.

"My name is Nora!" exclaimed Nora.

"I think we're going to be good friends!" shouted Penny.

Immediately, she gave Nora a hug.

As she did so, Nora suddenly had a hard time breathing.

"You're really...strong." noted Nora.

"Whoops! Sorry!" apologized Penny, loosening her grip. She forgot about her own strength sometimes. Just the other day when she gave an Atlas soldier a high-five she ended up sending them flying.

Nora sighed in relief.

"Wait, we are friends...right?" asked the robot. She'd be disappointed if they weren't.

"Hmm..." thought Nora out loud.

Curious, Nora decided to take a look to see if her friends would approve.

Dove and Sky were both shaking their heads...while Russel was busy playing Mega Man on a portable console.

"Since Russel doesn't seem to mind...OK!" exclaimed Nora.

"Huh? What?" asked Russel as he turned off his video game.

"Oh man!" bellowed Dove and Sky. Why would Nora want to be friends with her?

"Yes! Woohoo!" bellowed Penny, jumping into the air...several feet.

"Wow!" exclaimed Nora. Could Penny fly?

"By the way, are you going to compete in the Vytal tournament? I know I am!" shouted Penny.

"I'd love to!" cheered Nora.

"It'll be nice seeing you in the tournament then! Goodbye for now!" answered Penny as she went to the hardware store to get some batteries.

"Bye!" shouted Nora.

"What was with that girl?" asked Russel.

Dove and Sky shrugged.

"I wonder why she was getting battieres?" questioned Dove.

"Maybe she plays video games like you do?" inquired Sky.

"Maybe..." suggested Russel.

After Pyrrha decided to let Sun go, (though she did tell him that maybe he should live a different lifestyle), her teammates decided to head back to Beacon Academy.

Shortly afterward, Weiss began to complain about the Faunus and their larceny habit.

"I swear, the Faunus should all be arrested or something. Maybe the world is better off without them." suggested Weiss.

"Weiss!" exclaimed Blake.

"What? I'm tired of them pillaging us..." said the ice huntress.

"You're being really disrespectful!" bellowed the cat girl.

"Being disrespectful? Wait a minute..." thought Weiss out loud.

Suddenly, Weiss took off Blake's black bow.

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed the ice huntress.

Pyrrha and Ren gasped in shock.

As her teammates had just discovered, Blake had cat ears underneath her bow.

"I knew it! You ARE a Faunus!" bellowed Weiss.

Blake sighed.

"Alright, you got me...I am a Faunus...and if you don't want me to be on your team, then I'll just find someone else." answered Blake.

Immediately, Blake ran out of the room.

"Blake, wait!" exclaimed Ren.

Quickly, Ren ran out of the room after Blake.

"Weiss, what were you thinking?!" exclaimed Pyrrha, an angry look on her face.

"I'm sorry! I just didn't want any more thefts in Vale..." said Weiss.

"You know, I happened to have met a Faunus today. He said that he only stole from humans because none of them would give him a job, since they didn't like Faunus..." explained the polarity huntress.

"Really? I never thought about it that way..." answered the Schnee corporation heiress.

"Well, I'm glad you're realizing the error of your ways, but it's a bit too late to fix that. Blake and Ren have already run off...and unless we can get them back, we'll be two teammates short!" pointed out Pyrrha.

"You're right...I guess I didn't think things through..." admitted Weiss.

"Well, we should look for them soon. If they leave the country, it's doubtful that we would ever find them...unless of course they end up on the most wanted list..." advised the armor-clad teenage girl.

"You're right. We shouldn't let them get too far. But where would they go?" questioned the white-haired girl.

Pyrrha began to think.

 _Outside Beacon Academy..._

On a nearby bench, Blake was crying. She couldn't believe that her teammates had finally discovered who she was. Then again, perhaps she couldn't hide the truth from them forever. She did share the same living quarters with them whether she liked it or not.

Why did humans hate Faunus so much, anyway? Sometimes she wished that she could finally take off her bow so that she didn't have to hide the truth.

At that very moment, Ren approached her.

"Blake!" exclaimed Ren.

Blake's eyes widened in surprise. She wasn't expecting any of her teammates to pursue her.

"Ren?" asked Blake.

"There you are! I was worried about you after you ran away like that..." noted Ren.

"Sorry about that..." apologized the cat huntress. Maybe she should have been a bit more hasty.

"So...you're a Faunus?" asked the teenage boy.

"Yes, I am. Go ahead, call me names like beast or savage...I'll be listening." answered Blake. There were a lot of different names that people called Faunus.

Ren decided to take a closer look at Blake.

He noticed that she had cat ears.

"You know, those cat ears are actually rather...cute." noted Ren.

"Yeah yeah yeah, I've heard it all b-wait, no I haven't!" exclaimed Blake.

"What makes you think I'm going to insult you?" questioned the teenage boy. She was his teammate, just like Nora wanted to be.

"Wait, you're not actually against Faunus? I know that Cardin and his friends like bullying them." noted the cat Faunus. Of course, Cardin and his friends haven't been so bad lately ever since they were assigned to work for Ruby and Nora respectively.

"Of course not! I think they're people too!" exclaimed Ren.

Blake smiled. Perhaps not everyone hated Faunus as she thought. She was glad that Ren could appreciate that she was a Faunus, unlike Weiss.

"Don't worry about Weiss. I'm sure she'll realize the error of your ways eventually." advised Blake's teammate.

"Maybe you're right." agreed the catgirl. Personally, she decided that since Ren didn't mind her cat ears along with her other cat features, maybe she didn't need to wear that bow anymore.

"I think I'll come back to my teammates eventually. For now I think I need a break from being a huntress." noted Blake.

"Let me know when you're ready to come back, OK?" asked Ren.

"You can come with me if you want...I wouldn't mind hanging out with you." stated the huntress.

Ren nodded.

"I know an inn that's willing to accept both Faunus and humans...as unbelievable as that sounds. Maybe we could hang there for a few days." suggested Blake.

Ren nodded once again. That wasn't a bad idea.

Together, Blake and Ren left Beacon Academy so that they could both take a break from being part of Team PWBR.

 _And Blake and Ren are both gone. It looks like Pyrrha and Weiss are going to have to look for them, wherever they could possibly be. Maybe Weiss should be more respectful to the Faunus. Then again, the White Fang have never been friends to her father's company. Her father had lost his fair share of sales to those maniacs._

 _In the next chapter, the search for Blake and Ren is going to begin..._


	17. Chapter 17: Here Kitty Kitty

_In this chapter, Pyrrha and Weiss are going to search for Blake and Ren...and of course, Nora is going to join the search as well. Not a big surprise eh._

 _Since Volume 4 is here I figure I should start working on this fanfic again. I'm sure that you would appreciate it._

 **Chapter 17: Here Kitty Kitty**

Pyrrha and Weiss searched for Blake and Ren, wondering where they had gone. It seemed like only a few minutes ago that Blake and Ren were fighting with them side-by-side.

But now, they were gone like dust in the wind.

"You really need to be more considerate of Faunus, Weiss. Now both Blake and Ren are gone...and Ren wasn't even a Faunus." remarked Pyrrha.

"I'll try to be more considerate of Faunus..." apologized Weiss. Personally she found it rather sweet that Ren still cared about Blake despite the difference between their species, though part of her couldn't understand it.

Unfortunately, it appeared that nobody had seen them. They found it rather unusual that there would be a Faunus and a human traveling side by side. You'd think that it would stick out amongst a crowd, but apparently they simply weren't paying attention.

"What happened to the days in which random bystanders were portrayed by shadows?" asked Pyrrha. Nowadays it seemed like everyone had a more detailed character design than that.

"Yeah! It'd be so much easier to find them then!" exclaimed Weiss.

Then again, some of those shadow people did look like their friends.

"How are we going to find her?" asked Pyrrha.

"I don't know but I don't think we can continue our education at Beacon Academy with two of our teammates missing..." noted Weiss.

"Who else is going to work with us?" inquired the magnetic girl.

"I don't know, actually..." answered the icy huntress.

"You really need to think your actions carefully..." noted Pyrrha.

"I know..." nodded Weiss.

At that very moment, Nora showed up.

"What's up?" asked Nora.

"We lost Ren and Blake..." answered Pyrrha.

"What? You lost Rennie?!" exclaimed the girl.

"Well, Weiss did...she made Blake upset and when she ran away Blake chased after her...we haven't seen either of them since..." stated Weiss.

Nora glared at Weiss.

"I'm sorry, OK?" apologized Weiss.

"Because of you Ren is probably Nevermore chow!" exclaimed Nora.

"Relax...I don't think that he's gone too far...that would be crazy..." answered Pyrrha.

"True..." nodded the pancake lover.

"We'll let you know if you find him..." said Weiss.

"I'm searching for Rennie himself! And I suppose I'll search for Blake while we're at it even if we're nothing alike..." noted Nora.

"You've always been more energetic than both of them put together..." remarked the magnetic heroine.

"That's true..." nodded the girl.

She decided to join the search as well.

Suddenly, she noticed the girl that she had met earlier.

"Penny, is that you?" asked Nora.

"Hello again!" exclaimed Penny.

Curious, she noticed that Penny didn't seem to be out in public this time.

"Why are you sitting alone?" questioned the girl.

"I have a bunch of soldiers looking for me...they think that I shouldn't wander off..." answered Penny.

"That's what Rennie did...though nobody can find him!" exclaimed Nora.

"Nobody can find them? Maybe I can help..." stated the girl.

Suddenly, her eyes began to glow teal.

"What are you doing?" asked Nora.

Shortly afterwards, Penny spotted something.

"I think they're staying at a hotel right now..." said Penny.

"How'd you find them?" questioned Nora.

"Um, I have good eyes?" answered the rather strange girl.

"Works for me!" exclaimed the girl. Just as long as they could find Ren.

Suddenly, they noticed two Black Hand members. They seemed to be worried about something.

"It's the Black Hand! I hope they don't find Blake before we do..." remarked Nora.

Granted, the Black Hand had been started because of White Fang aggression, so they might not attack Blake if she wasn't aggressive. However, she also knew that the higher-ups were genuinely racist to Faunus and wished them gone from Vale.

But...why were they so worried?

At that very moment, Greyfang showed up.

"So...you like sabotaging the White Fang's efforts, don't you?" questioned Greyfang.

The Black Hand members gasped.

Greyfang proceeded to tear into them viciously with his claws.

Within seconds, the Black Hand members were dead.

Nora gasped in shock.

Greyfang then left, satisfied with his work.

"That was horrifying!" exclaimed Nora.

"It seems that there's bad blood between the White Fang and the Black Hand..." noted Penny. Perhaps it was good that she wasn't aligned with either. She was aligned with Atlus.

Of course, she did hear that there were other branches of the White Fang and the Black Hand in the world.

"Anyways...let's go to the motel!" shouted the girl. Hopefully she would be able to get over seeing such a bloody sight. All the more reason to stop the Faunus from invading the world, he supposed.

Penny nodded. Hopefully she wouldn't have to witness any more bloodshed. She actually felt sorry for the Black Hand members.

Penny and Nora went to the motel to look for Ren and Blake.

Currently, they were stargazing.

"It sure is nice to look at the stars in night..." answered Ren.

"If we see a shooting star, we can make a wish." noted Blake.

Suddenly, Ren noticed something strange.

"Is that...White Fang members?" questioned Ren.

Currently, they were gathering stolen dust.

"Huh. I didn't think we would come across the White Fang doing this..." noted the boy.

"What? Let me see!" exclaimed Blake.

As it turned out, the White Fang were gathering stolen dust.

"I think this is my cue..." said the cat girl.

Blake pulled out her Gambol Shroud.

However, Ren would not let her go alone.

"Don't go out there alone!" exclaimed Ren.

"I don't want you to be in danger..." answered Blake.

"I don't want YOU to be in danger!" shouted the teenage boy.

"I suppose I won't be able to change your mind..." noted the girl.

Perhaps if they sabotaged the White Fang it would put an end to all the dust thefts.

Taking a closer look, she noticed that Roman Torchwick was with them.

"Wait, why is HE working for the White Fang?" questioned Blake.

That was something that she wanted to find out.

 _Meanwhile..._

Ruby noticed that there was a wanted poster for Roman Torchwick.

"I sure hope that they catch him someday..." remarked Ruby. The sooner that he was behind bars, the better.

"I'm sure they will..." nodded Yang. If they ever became bounty hunters, he would be a good opportunity for them. He must have a ton of money on his head right about now. How does he avoid being captured?

Unfortunately, they had heard that Roman Torchwick had a new ally now. They weren't quite sure who it was, but she was probably going to be hard to beat. Also, for some strange reason, she always carried an umbrella...even though it wasn't going to rain for the next few days.

"I'd like to see Roman Torchwick go up against me..." answered Cardin.

"Of course you would. You think you're the strongest student in our class..." stated Ruby.

"Of course I am!" exclaimed the bully.

"I think Pyrrha is tougher than you." said Jaune.

"What? Don't be ridiculous! I can beat her up anytime I want!" bellowed Cardin.

"Oh really? Then how come she's won four Mistral tournaments and you have yet to win a single one?" asked the swordsman.

"I could win a Mistral tournament anytime I wanted to!" exclaimed the bully.

"Sure, you could." nodded Jaune.

"Whatever! I'm not talking to you..." stated Cardin.

 _Meanwhile..._

"So...why are you trying to stop the White Fang? Is it to bring peace or is it for something more personal?" asked Ren.

"It's kind of both. You see, I used to be a member of the White Fang." answered Blake.

"You did? Aren't they wanted criminals?" inquired the teenage boy.

"Well, it wasn't always that way. We simply wanted people to respect us...but unfortunately, a member of the White Fang rose through the ranks...and he thought that people should fear the Faunus instead of simply respecting us...I don't see his logic." stated the teenage girl.

"I think he lost track of the organization's purpose." said Ren.

"I'm afraid so. That's why I left the White Fang...it just wasn't the White Fang anymore." explained the Faunus girl.

"I see..." nodded the orphaned teenage boy.

"Having said that, Adam Taurus did save my life once...but it wasn't enough for me to stay in the organization. I don't think that he's happy that I left though." remarked Blake.

Something told Ren that Blake was rather worried about that.

Suddenly, Roman Torchwick showed up.

"Wait, Roman Torchwick is working for the White Fang?" questioned Blake.

"I don't get it...I thought that Roman hated the Faunus..." remarked Ren. Granted, it was only a rumor that Roman Torchwick was racist, but he was still curious as to why he was working with the White Fang.

"Hurry up, you filthy animals! I don't have all day here!" exclaimed Roman.

"I guess he is racist..." answered the teenage boy.

"Well, you're not. I appreciate that." remarked Blake. She was so glad that she had been partnered with someone that could look past her cat ears.

"Do you...think we should take them on?" questioned Ren.

"Well, other than the White Fang members loading the cargo, I think Roman Torchwick is alone...and I don't think he can take me on by himself..." answered the Faunus. Roman Torchwick didn't typically fight others one on one, and she had support.

"Alright then." nodded the teenage boy.

Ren and Blake both leapt towards Roman Torchwick.

"What's this? Oh dear, it seems that someone found out about our operation here...I guess we might have to evacuate the area. But for now, get them!" exclaimed the man.

Immediately, the White Fang members began to attack Blake and Ren.

Fortunately, they weren't experienced fighters, and Blake and Ren made short work of them.

"Give it up, Roman! There's only one of you and there's two of us!" shouted Blake.

"I think things are going to get messy if you don't surrender..." noted Ren.

"What makes you think I'm alone?" inquired Roman Torchwick.

Suddenly, Neo revealed herself.

"What?!" exclaimed the cat Faunus.

Neo attacked Blake and Ren, hoping to strike them down with her legs.

Blake tried shooting at Neo, but she blocked the strikes with her umbrella.

"You're using an umbrella as a shield? For some strange reason that's working surprisingly well..." noted Ren.

Ren used his semblance to make Blake turn invisible along with himself.

"What? Is she hiding from us? I guess she's a scaredy cat..." noted Roman.

Neo let out a giggle. That was actually kind of funny if unoriginal.

Roman and Neo began to look for Blake and Ren.

At that very moment, Nora showed herself.

"I could have sworn that they would be here..." noted Nora.

Penny's eyes turned red. For some strange reason she thought using her heat vision would be a good idea.

It turned out it was. It seemed that Ren was using his semblance.

"There he is!" exclaimed Penny.

"Hey, who do you think you are, barging on like this? This is a major dust heist!" exclaimed Roman.

Since he couldn't find Ren, he decided to focus on Nora instead for her intrusion.

The blast almost hit her.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Nora.

"Hey! Leave my friend alone!" demanded Penny.

"So? What are you going to do about it?" asked Roman.

"How about this!" exclaimed the girl, releasing several swords from her back.

"How are you doing that?" asked Nora.

"Magic?" inquired Penny.

"I wish I had that kind of magic trick..." noted the girl.

"What?!" shouted Roman.

Penny Polendina aimed her swords at Roman.

Roman gasped in surprise. He was not expecting that. How exactly could a little girl be that strong?

Then again, she didn't exactly seem like an ordinary girl, did she? What kind of girl had a mechanical compartment in their back?

And unfortunately, it seemed that Penny Polendina was destroying their airships.

The White Fang began to panic. Perhaps they were outclassed.

"Damn it! I guess we're going to have to retreat..." noted Roman.

Neo nodded. Penny was simply too strong for them.

They decided to retreat on a conveniently-located airship and they flew away.

Penny was so happy that her friend was safe now. She began to do a tap dance.

"Dang. I guess they're going to be continuing their crime spree..." noted Blake. Did Roman even want all that dust for himself? Or was it for someone else?

Ren decided to remove his invisibility. It seemed that Roman Torchwick and Neo would leave them be for a while.

Suddenly, he found himself being hugged by Nora. Tightly.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" exclaimed Nora.

"Good to see you again..." said Ren, who was running out of breath.

"Maybe you should have told her where you were going..." noted Blake.

"We did value our privacy..." remarked the savvy teenager.

"Let's go home, shall we?" asked Nora.

Ren nodded. He and Blake had concealed themselves long enough. He did admit, his semblance did come in handy for that. Blake always seemed to be able to sense him even when he was invisible though. Perhaps it was because of her enhanced senses such as hearing and smell. She had good eyesight though.

Now that they had thwarted the dust heist, perhaps it was time for them to head back to Beacon Academy.

Their friends were waiting for them.

However, as they left, Penny Polendina was approached by an elderly man.

"You shouldn't prance around in public like that..." pointed out the man.

"I'm sorry..." apologized Penny.

Together, they went inside a limo.

They then drove straight towards a laboratory.

Penny had to admit, it was fun while it lasted. She even managed to make a friend...though her teammates didn't seem to approve. She even gave her a helping hand in locating her friend.

But now it was time for everyone to go home.

 _Just for the record, I decided to give Penny some more abilities than she does in canon. In case you don't know it at this point, I'm deviating from canon somewhat. I hope you still find it true to the show though. I find Nora's Arc to be true to the show even though it has a very different plot._

 _And yes, they decided to reveal what Ren's semblance was. I can't say I'm surprised. How else would he escape from the Grimm that attacked his hometown? And yes, they mentioned in Volume 3 Episode 1 that he was orphaned._

 _Since you might have seen RWBY Volume 4 already, don't expect me to go along the same path. Apparently it wasn't such a bad idea for me to keep watching RWBY since_


End file.
